Father, Son Caught for Grave Robbery

A team of robbers who stole ancient pottery from tombs have been caught.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency booked a group of grave robbers, including Park, 54, and his son, for violating the Protection of Cultural Properties Act, Tuesday.

According to the police, Park and his partners excavated old tombs in Haman, South Gyeongsang Province, in July 2007. They stole some 35 ancient works of pottery from tombs from the Gaya Kingdom (42-562), the small kingdom next to Silla during the Three Kingdoms Era.

Park has been a "professional" grave robber since 1973. The police suspect that Park was training his son.

Three others, including a 68-year-old Cho, are being charged with purchasing the articles despite knowing they had been stolen.

The Cultural Heritage Administration appraised the stolen earthenware and said they had been produced during the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla eras, around the fifth to sixth century.

The police raided Cho's house in Daegu and collected the stolen cultural properties.