By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Friday that they were terminating the contract of the head of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Kim Yoon-su, due to violations of contract employment regulations.
According to the ministry, Kim violated the rules on art collection and management during the process of buying French artist Marcel Duchamp's (1887-1968) ``Boite en Valise'' (Box in a Valise). The ministry explained that he gave a briefing on the purchase of the work to the Work Collection Recommendation Commission without confirming the actual price from the owner, the Richmond Company, and announced the purchase of the work before the commission's decision.
Problems related to Boite en Valise arose last May when the Office for Government Policy Coordination started a special audit. The ministry issued a warning last December but additional investigations took place following inadequacies in the customs procedure. Kim, a former co-chairperson of the left-leaning Korean People Artist Federation, had been among the heads of cultural agencies appointed by the previous administration and was asked by Culture Minister Yu In-chon to resign last March.
``It is natural for a manager tinged with the past government's political tendencies to step aside,'' Yu said in a statement at the time.
Regarding the audit results, supervisor Cho Chang-hee said that ``the decision was approached fairly, free from any demands from superiors, or any political intent.''
In response, Kim is considering legal action, saying that he was ``embarrassed at such a dishonorable termination.''
Purchased in 2005 for 600 million won ($623,000 at the time), Boite en Valise ― comprised of 60 miniatures including the groundbreaking modern-art work ``Fountain'' (1917) inside a briefcase ― was the most expensive work at the National Museum of Contemporary Art. There are about 300 editions of this particular work.
Following inspections by the ministry last October of four national arts organizations ― the National Opera, National Ballet, National Chorus and Seoul Performing Arts Company ― the National Opera was found to have embezzled 300-400 million won from sponsors between May 2003 and April 2008.