Court rules against painter's family in authenticity dispute over 'Beautiful Woman'
Chun Kyung-ja's "Beautiful Woman" / YonhapThe bereaved family of renowned late painter Chun Kyung-ja has again lost a legal battle to defy the law enforcement authority's conclusion that "Beautiful Woman," kept by a national art museum, is one of Chun's original paintings.The Seoul Central District Court on Friday ruled against Chun's family, who had insisted the state should provide 100 million won ($78,000) in compensation, stating the prosecution committed illegalities before concluding in 2016 that "Beautiful Woman" stored by the Gwacheon branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) was not a fake.The rare authenticity dispute dates back to 1991, when the MMCA disclosed "Beautiful Woman" as Chun's genuine painting and she denied having painted it. While the museum held fast to its insistence, Chun emigrated to the United States and died in 2015.Chun's second daughter, Kim Jeong-hee, filed a complaint against MMCA officials with the prosecution in 2016 for defamation and other charges, but prosecutors concluded that the work is authentic. The following year,
Jul 21, 2023