Confucian scholar and independence activist who took his own life in protest of the 1905 treaty; ninth-generation descendant of Song Si-yeol
| Life | 1836 ~ 1905 |
| Era | 조선 말기 |
| Clan | 은진 송씨 |
Song Byeong-seon (pen name Yeonjae) was a ninth-generation descendant of Song Si-yeol. After the 1905 Eulsa Treaty he petitioned King Gojong and later that year took his own life with poison.
After the Eulsa Treaty of 1905 he was received by King Gojong and submitted a ten-point memorial urging the treaty's repeal and punishment of the Five Eulsa Traitors. The next day he was deceived by the police chief Yun Cheol-gyu, taken outside the city walls, and returned to his home at Hoedeok.
On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month that year, at Seokchon village where Song Si-yeol's old house stands, he is said to have bowed four times to the north and taken poison.
He received the Order of Merit for National Foundation (national funeral class) in 1962 and was named Independence Activist of the Month in November 2006. Related heritage includes the Yeonjae Munjip printing blocks (Gyeongnam Tangible Heritage No. 312) and Seobyeokjeong (Jeonbuk Monument No. 80). Some texts call the collaborator Song Byeong-jun a younger kinsman, but this is not confirmed across sources.
His great-great-grandson Song Yeong-mu served as the 26th Chief of Naval Operations and as Defense Minister in 2017. His younger brother Song Byeong-sun is also a recognized independence figure.