Song Gil-yong, who spent 25 years searching for his missing daughter by putting up banners across the country with the heartfelt plea, “Please find the missing Song Hye-hee” has passed away suddenly at the age of 71.
An official from the National Citizens’ Association for Finding Missing Children and Families of the Missing confirmed in a phone call on the 28th that Song died in a car accident on Monday, the 26th.
The official mentioned that Song had undergone heart valve surgery just the day before the accident and that their last phone conversation took place that same day.
“He mentioned going out to pick up waste paper or that he was pulling a truck out for some errands, but then the accident happened when he collided with a dump truck,” the official said.
Song’s daughter, Hye-hee, who was 17 at the time, disappeared on February 13, 1999, after getting off at a bus stop near their home in Doyil-dong, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, around 10 p.m.
Since then, Song tirelessly traveled the country, displaying banners and distributing flyers that read, “Please find the missing Song Hye-hee.”
