The search operation for South Korean mountaineer Kim Hong-bin, who went missing shortly after becoming the world's first disabled person to climb all 14 of the world's highest peaks, has ended.

According to a committee overseeing the effort on Monday, the decision to wrap up the operation was made upon the wish of Kim's family.

The mountaineer reportedly had asked his wife in the past not to conduct a search for him should it place others in danger.

The Korea Alpine Federation plans to prepare a funeral for Kim, in consideration of his achievements. It will also propose that President Moon Jae-in posthumously confer Kim with the highest Cheongryong Order of Sport Merit.

After reaching the summit of Broad Peak at over eight-thousand meters in Pakistan's Karakoram Range at 4:58 p.m. Sunday, Kim got lost at seven-thousand-900 meters above sea level while descending the mountain. Initial rescue efforts by nearby climbers had failed.

The 56-year-old was known as the "fingerless" climber after losing all ten of his fingers to frostbite in 1991 while climbing up Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.