Korea University Museum was late in revealing that it lost a 17th-century antique painting of high artistic value after receiving it as a donation. The police launched an investigation but have yet to find the painting.
On the 27th, Korea Economic Daily reported that the Korea University Museum lost a 'Cormorant Painting' by Changgang Jo Sok (趙速, 1595?1668). Jo Sok was a mid-Joseon literati painter, and some of his works are known to be of such high artistic value that they are designated as national treasures or treasures.
The lost painting was donated to the Korea University Museum in August 2021 by Mr. A, a descendant of the Goryeong Park clan. At that time, Mr. A donated numerous artifacts ranging from the 17th century to the early 20th century, including the painting in question.
When museums receive donations, they usually record an approximate value of the items and issue a donation receipt. Korea University Museum sent receipts and donation certificates to donor Mr. A in March, but the list of donated items, which should have been naturally attached, was missing.
Mr. A, after nearly two years of not receiving the list of donated items from the Korea University Museum, began to inquire personally and finally received the list in May, only to find that Jo Sok’s painting was omitted.
A Korea University official acknowledged the loss, saying, "It is true that we received a work presumed to be by Jo Sok, but it is currently missing." He added, "The museum searched through all 20,000 items in its collection to find the lost item but failed, and we feel a strong sense of responsibility for the poor management."
The Korea University Museum reportedly became aware of the loss in December last year during the process of classifying donated items. Despite failing to find the donated item after an internal search, the museum did not report the loss for six months and only requested a police investigation in June this year.
A Seongbuk Police Station official in charge of the case stated, "We have completed witness interviews with related personnel, including museum curators, but a lot of time has passed since the estimated time of loss, making it difficult to secure evidence such as CCTV footage."
The police investigated museum staff and other related persons but found no evidence of theft, registering the case as an unsolved management incident. An unsolved management incident refers to a case that the police manage as investigation material until additional clues are found because they have not secured leads to identify a suspect.
Korea University has replaced the museum director and referred one museum employee to the disciplinary committee. Another museum employee resigned, taking responsibility for the loss of the donated item.
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