At approximately 12:30 p.m. on September 5, 2006, Hwang left J.C. Community Grocery, the store he owned in the vicinity of the 1700 block of Castalia in Memphis, TN. He went to Tri-City Wholesale, a wholesale grocery store he frequently patronized. Workers at the wholesale store say Hwang was shopping there when he received an urgent phone call and left the store hurriedly, leaving his merchandise behind. Hwang has never been heard from again. His red 2002 Nissan truck was located that same evening, off of Interstate 55 in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Hwang's grocery store had been held up several times prior to his disappearance. Authorities are investigating to see whether the robberies have anything to do with his disappearance. Foul play is suspected in his case, which remains unsolved.