Singer Song Dae-kwan performs at the KBS TV show "Music Stage" in November 2010. He died on Friday. Yonhap

Song Dae-kwan, a trot music legend, the genre popular among middle-aged and older Korean listeners, died Friday. He was 78.

Song visited the emergency room at Seoul National University Hospital on Thursday due to his poor health condition. However, he died from a heart attack during treatment on Friday morning, his agency Starlineup Entertainment said.

Song had been suffering from underlying health issues and had undergone surgery three times but had experienced difficulties during recovery.

Debuting in 1967, Song was a strong presence in the trot music genre. The singer achieved a major breakthrough with the hit "Haetteulnal" (Sunny Day), released in 1975.

Since then, he has been loved by many fans with hit songs such as "Four Beats," "One Ticket" and "Popular Song," establishing himself as an icon of the trot genre for decades.