Lone Dokdo resident dies

Kim Sung-do stands on the islets of Dokdo in this 2006 file photo. /Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Sung-do, the only resident of the easternmost islet of Dokdo, died from liver cancer, Sunday.

He was 79.

According to North Gyeongsang Province, Kim died at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, where he had been hospitalized since September.

Kim first moved to Dokdo in 1965 and built a house there. He also built a drying rack for seafood for his own use.

In November 1991, Kim and his wife became the first Koreans to become officially registered as Dokdo residents. Up to then, they were residents of Ulleung Island, North Gyeongsang Province.

Kim is also the very first Korean to operate a business in Dokdo.

After his health deteriorated, Kim opened an online platform named “Love Dokdo” in May 2013 and sold souvenirs from the islets.

He sold T-shirts to tourists visiting Dokdo starting in January 2014 and he paid 1.9 million won in taxes to the National Tax Service in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

“It is my bounden duty to pay taxes upon my income as a Korean citizen living in Dokdo and the fact that I am running my business here confirms Dokdo is Korean territory,” Kim said during the interview at that time with local press.