Police search the gallery of Yang Eui-sook from “Authentic Masterpieces,” suspected of smuggling cultural assets out of the country

Yang Eui-sook, chairperson of the Korean Antiques Association. Kyunghyang Shinmun Archives

Yang Eui-sook (77), the chairperson of the Korean Antiques Association, is suspected of illegally taking the nation’s cultural assets and artifacts out of the country. The police have conducted a search and seizure of the gallery Yang runs in connection with the allegation. Yang argued that it was simply a problem that occurred due to administrative procedures.

According to the police on August 10, the international crime investigation team of the narcotics crime investigation unit of the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency recently searched Space Yenar, a gallery Yang Eui-sook runs in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Reportedly, Yang is suspected of violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act by sneaking over twenty pieces of cultural artifacts produced in the nineteenth century out of the country.

According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, artworks and craftwork manufactured more than fifty years ago require a permit from the Cultural Heritage Administration in order to be taken out of the country. Yang sent the artifacts to Australia through an international express cargo carrier without approval from the Cultural Heritage Administration. She is currently adjusting her schedule for police questioning.

The artifacts that Yang is suspected of taking out of the country are currently on display at one of the Museums Victoria in Australia. One Korean resident in Australia saw the exhibition at the museum and found it strange. He called the Cultural Heritage Administration, which eventually led to the police investigation.

A police representative said, “In connection with the case, there are elements we need to carefully check with the people involved,” and explained, “At present, an investigation on this case is ongoing, and we preemptively conducted a search and seizure recently to collect information.”

The police plan to analyze the information they secured in the search.

Yang Eui-sook, chairperson of the Korean Antiques Association said, “The problem occurred in some of the administrative procedures in the process of putting the folk artworks on display in the museum in Australia,” and added, “I will clearly explain them (related facts).”

Yang, who is from Jeju, is a folk-art specialist who has worked in the antique world, running Space Yenar, a gallery specializing in antiques in Seoul. She is well known among the public for she has long appeared as an appraiser on TV Show Authentic Masterpieces (KBS).

She began serving as the 26th chairperson of the Korean Antiques Association in April 2021. Her three-year term will last until next year. Yang has worked in the antique industry for over fifty years, and she also works as an appraiser for the antiques association. She studied fashion design at Sejong University and majored in antiques in graduate school at Hongik University.

The Korean Antiques Association is a non-profit organization, which received approval from the Ministry of Culture and Public Information (current Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) in 1971. It is based in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The association currently runs an appraisal body, which specializes in appraising antiques.