Domestic Art Auctions Rebound in Second Half
Q3 Sees Improvement in Success Rates and Sales
High-Priced, Large-Scale Transactions Drive Performance
Global Auction Market Remains Flat Year-on-Year
First-Half Sales Down 6.2% from Previous Year
Market Viewed as in 'Transition' Rather Than Recovery
The domestic art auction market in Korea has shown a more robust performance than expected this year. As transactions of high-priced, large-scale works increased, key indicators rebounded, with both the auction success rate and sales improving. However, despite this solid performance, the global art market remains in a downturn, and experts assess that the overall market is closer to a 'transition period' than a 'recovery.'
Chagall's "Bouquet," sold for 9.4 billion won at the Seoul Auction in November. Courtesy of Seoul Auction
According to industry sources on December 22, the domestic auction market gradually recovered in the second half of the year after a sluggish first half. Seoul Auction and K Auction posted an average auction success rate of 57.8% as of June, showing a clear improvement compared to May (49.4% and 46.5%, respectively). In July, Seoul Auction recorded a success rate of 71%, entering the rare high-success-rate range since 2024, while K Auction also achieved a total auction sales of 4.7 billion won, regaining a top-tier performance among recent months.
Performance indicators also support this rebound. According to the "Q3 2025 Art Market Analysis Report" published by KAAAI, the corporate-affiliated research institute of the Korea Art Appraisal Research Center, the total auction sales of nine domestic art auction houses in the third quarter of this year reached 31.35 billion won, up 31.99% from the same period last year. This is a significant turnaround compared to the 26.2% decrease in the third quarter of last year. K Auction's total auction sales rose by 59.5% to 16.37 billion won, and Seoul Auction also saw a 23.7% increase to 10.54 billion won. Analysts attribute this improvement in performance to the increased transactions of high-priced, large-scale works.
In September, Lee Joongseop's "Cow and Child," auctioned at K Auction, fetched 3.52 billion won, marking the highest price in the third quarter, while Park Sookeun's 1959 work "Mountain" was sold for 1.2 billion won. At the Seoul Auction Evening Sale, Marc Chagall's "Bouquet" (1937) was sold for 9.4 billion won, setting a new record for the highest price ever at a Korean art auction.
However, the picture changes when looking at the global market. The global art market continues to stagnate or decline, with no clear signs of recovery. According to the "Art Market Report 2025" published by Art Basel, the world's largest art fair, and investment bank UBS, the global art market (auction) was valued at 57.5 billion dollars (about 85 trillion won) in 2024, and is expected to remain at a similar level this year. The performances of major auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's also reflect the overall market slowdown. According to "Korea Art Market," operated by the Arts Management Support Center, at Christie's London auction in the third quarter, 59 works failed to meet their presale low estimates, with total sales reaching only 1.79 million dollars (about 2.5 billion won), a significant gap from the expected 3.35 million dollars.
Sotheby's also achieved some high-priced sales in certain auctions, but these were not enough to reverse the overall trend. In the July auction, total sales reached 11.5 million pounds (about 21.4 billion won), close to the estimated value, but global auction market sales in the first half of 2025 fell by 6.2% compared to the same period last year. Sales of postwar and contemporary art dropped by 19.4%, and impressionist and modern art by 7.7%, while only the design and decorative art sector rebounded by about 20%.
Industry insiders remain cautious about interpreting the domestic market's solid performance as an immediate economic recovery. They point out that transactions of works by a few famous artists have largely driven the indicators upward. Chung Junmo, CEO of the Korea Art Appraisal Research Center, said, "In a normal market, 'Cow and Child' could fetch more than 7 billion won," adding, "In times of recession, auction houses tend to put so-called bestselling masterpieces at the forefront to make the market appear stronger than it actually is, and this strategy is repeated." He continued, "This provides a certain level of defense, but it is difficult to see it as a structural recovery," and analyzed, "Given the global economic trends, it is still premature to expect a full-fledged rebound in the art market."
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