The late actor Song Young-kyu. Kyunghyang DB
It has already been a year since the late actor Song Young-kyu left our side. As his posthumous work, the Netflix series ‘True Education’, meets viewers around the world and receives weighty acclaim, there is a deep sense of regret that he could not witness its fruits.
The late Song Young-kyu was found dead in a vehicle in a parking lot in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on August 4, 2025, one year ago. He was 55. A police investigation found no suspicion of foul play. It later came to light that in June of that year, shortly before his death, he had been referred to prosecutors on a drunk-driving charge, and he stepped down from all productions he had been appearing in, including the play ‘Shakespeare in Love’; nevertheless, the sad news, delivered merely ten days after the controversy arose, sent the entertainment industry into deep shock.
Having begun his acting career on stage in 1994 with the children’s musical ‘Meoteoldosa’ and in theater, he was a late-blooming actor who quietly endured a long period of obscurity. In the 2019 film ‘Extreme Job’, which drew 10 million moviegoers, he played Chief Choi and left a deep impression on the public, and he went on to deliver standout performances in dramas such as ‘Misaeng’, ‘Reply 1988’, ‘Stove League’, and ‘The Penthouse 3’. He excelled as a scene-stealer, showcasing a broad acting spectrum that traversed good and evil across media and genres.
Above all, the Netflix original series ‘True Education’, released after his passing, is leaving a deep afterglow with the public. In this work, he played prominent politician Ryu Gwang-pil, tightly modulating the narrative tension and delivering an overwhelming performance. As the series is streamed to viewers around the globe on a global platform, his exceptional acting is being spotlighted anew, yet it is bittersweet that he is unable to see the showers of praise himself.
Marking the first anniversary, waves of mourning from the broadcasting world and fans continue. The public expressed their remembrance through online communities, saying, “His pitch-perfect acting in Extreme Job and Reply 1988 is still vivid,” “People around the world are watching his posthumous work True Education with admiration, and it is a shame he left too soon,” and “May you lay down your heavy burdens there and rest in peace.”
