Shin Misappropriates Art Gallery Fund
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The prosecution has confirmed former art professor Shin Jeong-ah, accused of fabricating her academic credentials, embezzled corporate sponsorships given to an art gallery where she was employed.
Shin, 35, was summoned Thursday afternoon for the second time, following initial questioning Sunday when she returned to Korea after fleeing to New York in mid-July.
After a local court refused Tuesday to issue an arrest warrant for her, saying the forgery case was not a grave enough a crime, the prosecution began focusing on confirming allegations that Shin embezzled funds from Sungkok Art Museum where she was a curator.
She allegedly attracted huge sponsorships from large-sized companies with the help of Byeon Yang-kyoon, the former presidential policy planner and her alleged ``sugar daddy.''
By examining bank accounts of Shin and the museum, prosecutors found hundreds of millions of won from sponsorships had been deposited in her accounts since 2005. They are currently trying to ascertain the total amount.
``We could not put the misappropriation charge on the arrest warrant request, as we had not checked the accounts for 2006 due to the court's previous rejection of a search warrant,'' a prosecutor said.
As Shin's personal money and the art gallery's funds were mixed up in the accounts, the prosecution suspects Shin has taken full charge of managing the museum's funds and used a portion as her personal money, investing some of it in stocks.
The prosecution plans to make a second request for an arrest warrant based on their new evidence after the ``Chuseok'' holiday.
The Kukmin Ilbo newspaper reported that Shin has had regular monthly meetings with figures from politics, business, academic and journalist circles, for the last three years.
The figures include the opposition Grand National Party spokeswoman Na Kyung-won; SK Telecom managing director Wang Yoon-jong; Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO Yoon Jae-seung; and CJ Group vice president Kim Seung-soo.
They had dinner every month and celebrated Shin's appointment as a professor at Dongguk University, according to the daily.
Shin partly admitted her relationship with Byeon during the first questioning. She said that when Byeon was minister of planning and budget, he often came to her house to study drawing and that they painted together.
She also said that Byeon visited her home to read rare art books she possessed and that they talked about art.
The prosecution earlier found the two had been in a ``close relationship'' through e-mails on Shin's computer. Shin said the two were ``comrades through art,'' who shared the same views on the country's art field.
According to the prosecution, Shin forged her diplomas to show she obtained degrees from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. at Yale University. These and her association with Byeon got her hired as an assistant professor at Dongguk University and as a director for the 2008 Gwangju Biennale. She also allegedly exploited her relationship with Byeon in attracting companies' sponsorships for exhibitions she organized.