Gate saga turns fatal

An investigator examines Sungnyemun’s wooden pavilion in October last year. The government investigation on the flawed restoration of the historic gate hit an unexpected snag after Chungbuk National University professor Park Won-kyu, who had been brought in to lead the investigation, was found dead in an apparent suicide over the weekend. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Renowned wood expert found dead in apparent suicide

By Baek Byung-yeul

A Chungbuk National University professor tasked by the government to review the botched restoration of a historic Seoul landmark was found dead over the weekend in an apparent suicide hanging.

Professor Park Won-kyu, a renowned expert of wood anatomy, was found hanging from an electric wire in his laboratory on Saturday by his wife, police said.

Lee Sung-han, commissioner general of the Korea National Police Agency (KNPA) said Monday that authorities had concluded that the case was a suicide, judging from the circumstances around the case as well as surveillance footage.

A note found near Park’s body read: “I am in the midst of hard times and feel so sorry for my family.”

His death complicates the investigation into the restoration of Sungnyemun, the 600-year-old gate registered as Korea’s No.1 National Treasure. The landmark has deteriorated only eight months after its restoration from a 2008 arson attack.

The late Park was one of the country’s leading experts in wood anatomy. / Korea Times file

The 56-year-old professor was recognized internationally as an authority in dendrochronology — the dating and study of annual rings in trees.

He was tasked to look into allegations that wood used during the reconstruction had been imported. The government had said the materials would all be domestically grown.

Controversy began over the gate in October, when it was found that decorative painting on some parts had eroded.

Facing backlash, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), responsible for the restoration, admitted that Sungnyemun needed further fixing.

Soon later, the National Police Agency raided the office of master carpenter Shin Eung-soo over suspicions that the wood for the columns of the gate had been imported from Russia. An investigation team was assembled immediately by the request of the CHA.

The problems exposed at the restored Sungnyemun include the deterioration of “dancheong,” or decorative painting. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Shin Eung-soo has denied the allegations over the wood. “It (the allegations) doesn’t make sense at all. I would give the police my full cooperation,” he said.

But he admitted that he used his “own” pine trees as he lacked domestic pine tree for the second floor of the gate.

The KNPA commissioner general said it would take two to three more weeks to get the full results of the wood analysis.

The country spent the past five years painstakingly fixing what had been the capital’s oldest surviving wooden structure and it was on May last year that the gate finally reopened to the public, marked by a lavish ceremony attended by a beaming Park Geun-hye.

The excitement was quickly replaced with disappointment and confusion due to the slew of problems discovered at the gate.

The decorative coloring, or “dancheong,” of the pavilion has peeled off in more than 20 different parts that were coated in red and pinkish-peach colors. Some observers argue that the colors of the pavilion’s signboard are beginning to erode as well.

Cracks can also be seen in the rafters beneath the eaves and the narrow timber strips that support the plaster of the roof. There are gaps between the horizontal beams beneath the roof and the posts that support them, showing that restoration workers failed to properly fit the new wood into the existing old structure.