By Kwon Mee-yoo
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday that it will seek to establish an act on artwork transactions, stipulating punishment for art forgery crimes.
"The new law will classify art distributors into three categories _ galleries, auction houses and other distributors. The galleries and auction houses will require licenses and other distributors will need to report to the ministry before opening for business. All art transactions by unregistered dealers will be subject to a fine," Vice Culture Minister Jung Kwan-joo said.
The new act aims to block underground art transactions without a public display of the artwork. If a gallery or an auctioneer is implicated in a forgery case, their licenses will be revoked.
Instead of making a registry of all artwork traded, the ministry will mandate dealers to record all transactions.
" Because of concerns that revealing a buyer's information might reduce art transactions, we will instead require galleries to document all trading," Jung said. "However, the galleries will not have to submit their records unless they are requested to by investigative or tax authorities. If they fail to provide the transaction history, they will face administrative restrictions."
The ministry also plans to establish a national research institute on art appraisal. "The institution will include experts from various fields to provide official support in counterfeit cases," said Woo Sang-il, a ministry official.
A series of forgery scandals including one Korea's most renowned artists, Lee U-fan, has shaken the art market, prompting the government action.
Some 2,800 counterfeits of major artists such as Lee Jung-seob and Park Soo-keun were discovered in 2005 and a Park Soo-keun painting "A Wash Place" worth 4.5 billion won was suspected as fabricated in 2007. Last year, forgery scandals revolving around Lee U-fan and the late Chun Kyung-ja rocked the art world. The authenticity of most of the artwork could not be verified clearly, fueling the dispute.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday that it will seek to establish an act on artwork transactions, stipulating punishment for art forgery crimes.
"The new law will classify art distributors into three categories _ galleries, auction houses and other distributors. The galleries and auction houses will require licenses and other distributors will need to report to the ministry before opening for business. All art transactions by unregistered dealers will be subject to a fine," Vice Culture Minister Jung Kwan-joo said.
The new act aims to block underground art transactions without a public display of the artwork. If a gallery or an auctioneer is implicated in a forgery case, their licenses will be revoked.
Instead of making a registry of all artwork traded, the ministry will mandate dealers to record all transactions.
" Because of concerns that revealing a buyer's information might reduce art transactions, we will instead require galleries to document all trading," Jung said. "However, the galleries will not have to submit their records unless they are requested to by investigative or tax authorities. If they fail to provide the transaction history, they will face administrative restrictions."
The ministry also plans to establish a national research institute on art appraisal. "The institution will include experts from various fields to provide official support in counterfeit cases," said Woo Sang-il, a ministry official.
A series of forgery scandals including one Korea's most renowned artists, Lee U-fan, has shaken the art market, prompting the government action.
Some 2,800 counterfeits of major artists such as Lee Jung-seob and Park Soo-keun were discovered in 2005 and a Park Soo-keun painting "A Wash Place" worth 4.5 billion won was suspected as fabricated in 2007. Last year, forgery scandals revolving around Lee U-fan and the late Chun Kyung-ja rocked the art world. The authenticity of most of the artwork could not be verified clearly, fueling the dispute.
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