Antique group chief implicated in missing Goguryeo mural

By Kwon Mee-yoo

The president of the Korea Antique Association (KAA) has been accused of being involved in the theft of an ancient tomb mural stolen from Jilin Sheng, China, some 10 years ago.

According to MBS TV’s PD Notebook program aired Tuesday, Kim Jong-choon, president of the KAA, paid money to grave robbers and acquired the missing mural from them.

In 2000, four ethnic Korean grave diggers stole the murals from the Samsil-chong and Jangcheon Tomb No. 1 located in Jilin Sheng, both dating from the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 B.C.-A.D. 668). The murals are known for their powerful lines and color.

They sliced the mural with an electric saw and tore it off from the walls of the tombs. The four robbers were sentenced to death, but the whereabouts of the murals are still unknown.

The program’s producer tracked down court records and discovered that Koreans were involved in the robbery.

The program reported that Kim gave 550,000 yuan (then 85 million won) to the grave robbers and later tried to sell the murals charging billions of won.

However, Kim refuted PD Note’s claims at a press conference Wednesday.

“I did try to obtain the Goguryeo murals from China when formal officials of the Cultural Heritage Administration sent me photos of them,” he said. “I would have tried to buy them if the price was appropriate, but the deal was never made as the broker said the Chinese police confiscated the murals. I still want to buy them if possible as they belong to Korea.”

Kim also said the sources quoted by PD Notebook were seeking revenge against him after he caught them appraising real antiques as fakes in order to export them to Japan.

Kim said he will take all legal steps against those who made false accusations against him. “I will file civil and criminal suits against PD Notebook staffers.”