Daegu·Yeosu, Establishment of Hosting Committee
Busan Advocates 'Balanced Development Theory'
Gyeonggi Officially Requests at Provincial Level
Criticism of Distortion into Political Achievement
One of the donated items from the 'Lee Kun-hee Collection,' Camille Pissarro's 'Pont-Audemer Market (1893).'
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] "It feels like watching political theme stocks in the stock market ahead of election season."
A director of a local government art museum recently described the nationwide local governments’ rush to host the so-called ‘Lee Kun-hee Art Museum’ in this way. He pointed out that the rationale used to justify the construction of the museum is extremely irrational, much like political theme stocks. Rather than contemplating ways to honor the collector’s spirit of donation and enhance the museum’s reputation, it is simply being distorted into a political achievement for politicians.
On the 14th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it had officially proposed to the government the plan to build the ‘Lee Kun-hee Art Museum’ in northern Gyeonggi to exhibit cultural assets and artworks donated by the family of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Gyeonggi Province plans to build the museum in connection with the Moon Jae-in administration’s pledge and national agenda of ‘developing former U.S. military return sites as national projects.’
Gyeonggi Province is the first to enter the competition for hosting the ‘Lee Kun-hee Art Museum’ at the provincial level, whereas until now the competition had been between cities and counties. So far, within Gyeonggi Province, the cities of Suwon, Yongin, Osan, and Pyeongtaek have individually competed to host the museum. Recently, as non-metropolitan local governments have heavily armed themselves with regional balanced development arguments for building the museum, this move is interpreted as an attempt to concentrate administrative power at the provincial level.
The first local government head to open the competition for building the ‘Lee Kun-hee Art Museum’ with the argument of regional balanced development was Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan. On the 2nd, he posted on his Facebook, “If the Lee Kun-hee Art Museum comes to Busan, it will become a shining landmark!” and criticized, “There are reports as if the museum is being built in Seoul without properly listening to the family’s opinions,” adding, “In the reality where cultural concentration in Seoul is severe, again Seoul?” He then proposed building the museum at Busan’s North Port.
Daegu City did not remain silent either. On the 7th, Daegu officially expressed its intention to host the ‘Lee Kun-hee Art Museum’ at a working-level meeting to discuss the formation of the Daegu Lee Kun-hee Art Museum Hosting Promotion Committee and promotion strategies. This is because Daegu is the birthplace of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee and the starting point of Samsung Sanghoe, the foundation of Samsung Group. Mayor Kwon Young-jin of Daegu said, “If the Lee Kun-hee collection is gathered in one place and presented to the public, that place should naturally be Daegu.”
Uiryeong County and Jinju City also jumped in, emphasizing their deep-rooted ties with the Samsung family. Jeonggok-myeon in Uiryeong is the birthplace of Ho-am Lee Byung-chul (1910?1987), the founder of Samsung Group. Jinju City introduced itself as the optimal site for the museum, as it is home to Jisu Elementary School, which Lee Byung-chul attended during his childhood.
Mogaedo, Sora-myeon, Yeosu-si, known to have been purchased during the lifetime of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. (Photo by KakaoMap capture)
In fact, Yeosu City even launched the ‘Lee Kun-hee Art Museum Yeosu Hosting Committee,’ mentioning that Chairman Lee Kun-hee had purchased a heart-shaped island during his lifetime. In addition, local governments, civic groups, and public institutions such as Daejeon, Sejong, Changwon, Cheongju, Incheon, and the Saemangeum Development Authority have joined the competition to attract the ‘Lee Kun-hee Art Museum.’
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated that it is still too early to discuss site selection. A ministry official said, “Nothing has been decided yet on whether to build a new museum or utilize an existing building to create a special exhibition hall,” adding, “The task force is currently discussing this, and a decision is expected by September at the earliest, after which discussions on regional selection and location will begin.”
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