An appeals court upheld a ruling against the family of the late artist Chun Kyung-ja, who had sought damages from the state for declaring authentic a museum-held painting that Chun had disavowed as a fake.
The Seoul Central District Court said Friday that Kim Jeong-hee, the complainant — a daughter of the late artist — did not present sufficient evidence to reverse an independent assessment secured by prosecutors in an earlier case, which found that the painting “Beautiful Woman” was by Chun. Kim claimed that calling it genuine had defamed Chun and her family.
Investigating the family claims of falsified documents and other accusations, prosecutors concluded in 2016 that the painting was authentic, citing expert appraisals and scientific analysis, which the trial court in that case accepted in 2023. Kim appealed the decision, arguing prosecutors had tampered with expert witnesses and the painting carried no “marks usually left by Chun.”
“Beautiful Woman” was first unveiled to the public in 1991 by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Chun accused the museum of exhibiting a fake, a claim the museum has continued to dispute. Chun died in 2015.
The lawyer representing the daughter Kim said she would take the case to the Supreme Court, reiterating that every part of the prosecution’s authentication process ran counter to logic.
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com
