His body was recovered by police divers about midnight on Sunday.
"The victim's family are extremely private people and they have asked us not to release their loved one's name,'' said Snr Sgt Aben.
"They have asked us to help them have privacy to grieve.''
The man, his wife and their two children were visiting the Gisborne area with a larger family group.
A member of the South Korean consulate is in Gisborne supporting the family.
"Victim Support continues to help them too.''
The man's Tauranga-based distraught wife told Rere residents who helped the family on Sunday that she was "proud of his heroic actions''.
A Rere resident, quoted in the Bay of Plenty Times, said the woman told her she felt "her husband was brave because he saved their son''.
The man's family reportedly lived in Tauranga while he worked in South Korea.