CCTV Footage of '500 Million' Painting Scribble Incident, Being Sold for '1 Billion'

The artwork 'UNTITLED' by American painter John One, damaged by a couple in their 20s last March [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] On March, a commotion occurred when a painting was damaged by a couple in their 20s, and now the CCTV footage from the incident has been priced at 1 billion KRW, drawing attention.

In March, the painting 'UNTITLED' by American artist John One (58), exhibited at Lotte World Mall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was damaged by a couple in their 20s.

Upon reviewing the CCTV, the exhibition organizers found that the couple took paint and brushes that were placed as props in the exhibition hall and painted over the artwork. The couple explained during police investigation, "There was graffiti on the wall and brushes and paint, so we thought it was okay to graffiti."

Not only the fact of the incident but also legal issues such as restoration costs were reported by domestic and international media, which made the artwork famous. As a result, the price of the artwork more than doubled, reportedly exceeding 1 billion KRW.

CCTV footage capturing the moment when the lover's painting was damaged / Photo by CCTV footage capture

Meanwhile, according to the art world on the 8th, the CCTV footage of the painting damage incident is planned to be produced and sold as an NFT (Non-Fungible Token).

NIKPLACE, a total art NFT trading platform service company, plans to NFT the artwork into 300 pieces and sell it along with the video starting from the 11th. A NIKPLACE official stated, "We contacted the couple appearing in the video and completed a portrait rights agreement in exchange for not holding them liable for damages."

The sales method involves dividing the artwork into 300 images, and consumers purchase each divided artwork NFT. Owners of the purchased NFTs will have a share proportional to the ownership of the artwork. They will also have the right to share profits from future sales of the artwork, allowing them to own a share of a famous artwork with a small amount of money.

Meanwhile, netizens who heard this news criticized it as excessive commercialism, saying, "Is the video of damaging a 500 million KRW painting worth 1 billion KRW?"

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