Over 10 Artifacts Illegally Exported from Australian National Gallery
Export Requires Permission if Over 50 Years Old Under Relevant Law
Yang Eui-sook, former president of the Korea Antique Art Association known from KBS’s ‘TV Show Genuine Article,’ has been sent to the prosecution on suspicion of illegal overseas export of cultural heritage.
The Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 2nd that former president Yang was sent without detention on charges of violating the former Cultural Heritage Protection Act (National Heritage Basic Act). The case has been transferred to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office after being sent to the prosecution.
Former president Yang is suspected of smuggling about 10 domestic cultural heritage artifacts to the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia last year without obtaining permission from the National Heritage Agency (formerly the Cultural Heritage Administration).
According to the National Heritage Basic Act, even non-designated cultural heritage items that are over 50 years old, in good condition, and possess historical, artistic, or academic value?such as artworks and crafts?require permission from the National Heritage Agency to be exported.
Last year, the police conducted a search and seizure at a gallery in Seoul operated by former president Yang in connection with his alleged violation of the National Heritage Basic Act. In August, a joint physical appraisal of the exported artifacts was conducted at the National Gallery of Victoria in cooperation with the National Heritage Agency.
The total number of appraised artifacts smuggled by former president Yang is 25, more than half of which are over 50 years old and classified as movable cultural heritage with historical, artistic, and academic value.
In response to the controversy, former president Yang denied the charges through the media, stating, “The artifacts in question are not valuable enough to be called cultural heritage, and some administrative procedures were not smoothly carried out while preparing for the exhibition in Australia.” He added, “I will clearly clarify the facts going forward.”
Yang served as president of the Korea Antique Art Association from 2021 until last year and is a folk craft expert who has worked in the antique art industry, operating the specialized antique gallery Yenar in Seoul. From March 1995 to September 2021, he appeared as an appraisal committee member on programs such as ‘TV Show Genuine Article,’ gaining public recognition.
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