After Purchase and Production in 2008, Gold Price Soars
Gold Value 4-5 Times Purchase Cost
Value Increase Makes It a Target for Thieves
The value of the 'Golden Bat Statue' in Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do, which was once criticized as a 'white elephant,' has surged, drawing attention. Recently, as the price of gold, a safe asset, skyrocketed, the value of the bat statue also soared accordingly.
The Golden Bat Statue is a gold sculpture installed at the Golden Bat Ecology Exhibition Hall in Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do. In 2008, Hampyeong-gun purchased 162 kg of pure gold and 281 kg of silver to create the sculpture.
The Golden Bat Statue was made to commemorate the golden bat (red bat), a natural monument and endangered species. After golden bats were discovered in 1999 at an abandoned gold mine around Gosanbong in Daedong-myeon, the county created the Golden Bat Statue and installed it in the exhibition hall to commercialize it as a tourist attraction.
The sculpture measures 1.5 meters wide and 2.1 meters high, depicting five golden bats flapping their wings, and it is reported that the total production cost was about 3 billion KRW.
Sculpture at the Hwanggeumbat Ecology Exhibition Hall in Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do. [Image source=Yonhap News]
However, public opinion was negative at the time of its creation. There were doubts not only about whether the Golden Bat Statue would attract tourists but also about whether it was worth purchasing tens of billions of won worth of pure gold to make the sculpture. It was even criticized as a '30 billion won waste of tax money.'
But recently, as the price of gold soared, the value of the sculpture also skyrocketed. According to the Korea Gold Exchange, as of the 20th, the purchase price of gold per gram is 87,380 KRW. Considering only the value of the gold used in the sculpture, its worth reaches about 14.1 billion KRW. This is about five times higher than the 2.7 billion KRW cost of purchasing pure gold in 2008.
As the value of the Golden Bat Statue actually increased, it also became a target for thieves. On March 15, 2019, in the early morning, a trio of thieves tried to steal the Golden Bat Statue by sneaking into the exhibition hall, but they fled when the security company's alarm went off. At that time, the value of the Golden Bat Statue was 8.5 billion KRW.
Netizens who heard the news responded with comments such as "Succeeded in gold investment," "Shouldn't this be passed down as a local government asset for generations," and "You never know until you see it through to the end."
Meanwhile, Hampyeong-gun is not the only local government that attempted to create pure gold sculptures. In 2019, Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, also purchased 189 kg of pure gold and attempted to create a 'Golden Baduk Board' but eventually withdrew due to huge cost issues. At that time, it was reported that about 11 billion KRW was needed to produce the Golden Baduk Board at the gold price.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
