Gang Stealing Works by Korea's Master Artists Valued at 10 Billion Won Sentenced to Prison in First Trial

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A group of thieves who stole artworks by master artists including the late painter Kim Whanki were sentenced to prison in the first trial.

On the 30th, according to the legal community, Judge In Jinseop of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21 sentenced Hwang and Lim, who were charged with special theft, to 2 years and 1 year and 6 months in prison, respectively. The court stated, "The defendants' guilt is very serious and their criminal nature is bad, considering their relationship with the victim as the victim's personal secretary and housekeeper." However, the court added, "The sentence was determined considering that they did not know the paintings were highly valuable at appraisal prices."

Hwang and others were prosecuted on charges of stealing eight works by famous domestic artists including Kim Whanki and Cheon Kyungja, in collusion with Kim, a disciple of Professor A, who owned many paintings by famous domestic artists, after Professor A's health rapidly deteriorated. The appraised value of the stolen artworks was estimated at 10.922 billion KRW.

The crime was uncovered after Professor A passed away and the bereaved family discovered the theft while organizing his belongings and reported it to the police. Kim was previously prosecuted for selling Kim Whanki's 'Sanullim' (1973) and pocketing over 4 billion KRW, and was sentenced to 4 years in prison earlier this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.