Kim Hee-geun, President of the Korea Mecenat Association, "National Art Museum Budget Limits Collection... Need to Introduce Payment-in-Kind System"

Inaugural Meeting of the 11th President

Hee-geun Kim, President of the Korea Mecenat Association

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] "It is impossible to collect world-class artworks with the annual art purchase budgets of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art or domestic art museums."

On the 10th, Kim Hee-geun, chairman of the Korea Mecenat Association, held an inauguration meeting at the Korea Press Center in Seoul and emphasized the necessity of introducing the recently controversial 'Cultural Heritage and Artwork Payment-in-Kind System.' The payment-in-kind system is a system that allows taxes to be paid by recognizing the value of assets other than cash. Currently, the payment-in-kind targets include real estate, bonds, and stocks. To expand the targets to include artworks, tax laws must be amended. The government and the National Assembly are currently discussing whether to introduce the payment-in-kind system.

Chairman Kim said, "To pay inheritance tax, most will have to sell through auctions, which will result in artworks going overseas," adding, "I hope people consider how such outcomes will affect the protection of our country's cultural assets."

Chairman Kim also mentioned that he will rebuild the nationwide Mecenat network to revitalize regional culture and arts. Following the currently active Seoul, Gyeongnam, Jeju, Daegu, and Sejong cities, he plans to support the establishment of Mecenat organizations in Busan and Gwangju to resolve the regional concentration of culture and arts. Kim said, "We will introduce good cases from large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises nationwide and help them unite to engage in Mecenat activities," adding, "We will promote the nationwide expansion of Mecenat activities by linking these activities with the region-specific matching funds conducted by the association."

Chairman Kim urged the government to prepare support measures so that more private companies can participate in the association's activities. He emphasized, "It is impossible for the government alone to lead all aspects of cultural and artistic development," and added, "Since Mecenat activities fill in the detailed areas that the state cannot reach through companies and entrepreneurs, government support in tax matters is necessary to encourage more companies to participate in Mecenat activities."

Chairman Kim pointed out that unlike the religious and welfare sectors, donations to the cultural and artistic fields are particularly weak due to institutional limitations. He said, "I hope the government cooperates to allow private funds to flow into the art market through institutional improvements," and stressed, "Amendments to the Restriction of Special Taxation Act are necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the Act on the Promotion of Cultural and Artistic Sponsorship."

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