'Fake Turtle Ship' Built with 2 Billion Won of Tax Money... Finally Sold for 1.54 Million Won

Controversy Over 'Fake Geobukseon' Made with US Pine
Wood Warped and Tail Damaged by Typhoon
Failed to Find Bidder 7 Times, Auction Disrupted

The 'Geoje Turtle Ship,' created to resemble its appearance during the Imjin War with a budget of 2 billion KRW, was sold for 1.54 million KRW after 13 years. This amount is about 1/1300th of the project cost.

According to Geoje City in Gyeongnam Province on the 17th, the '1592 Turtle Ship' displayed in the yard of the Geoje Shipbuilding and Marine Culture Center in Ilun-myeon, Geoje City, was sold for 1.54 million KRW after eight rounds of bidding. If no buyer had appeared this time, the turtle ship was at risk of being discarded.

This turtle ship was built in 2011 with a project budget of 2 billion KRW as part of the Yi Sun-sin project during the tenure of former Governor Kim Tae-ho. The Panokseon ship built at the same time was delivered to Tongyeong City. The three-story turtle ship, measuring ▲25.6m in length ▲8.67m in width ▲6.06m in height, was made to resemble its appearance during the Imjin War in 1592 and is also famously known as the '1592 Turtle Ship.'

The 'Geoje Geobukseon,' recreated to resemble its appearance during the Imjin War with a budget of 2 billion won, was sold for 1.54 million won after 13 years.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Although it was promoted as being made with Geumgang pine, an investigation by the Coast Guard revealed that low-quality American pine was mixed in.

This led to controversy over the so-called 'fake turtle ship,' causing the completion inspection and acceptance to be delayed for a long time. As a result, then-Governor Kim Du-kwan publicly apologized to the residents.

Originally, the turtle ship was planned to be moored in front of Jiseopo Port and used as a tourist attraction for boarding experiences. However, due to severe shaking and leaks, it was brought ashore in 2012 for repairs and has been displayed in the yard of the Shipbuilding and Marine Culture Center ever since.

Since then, the mixing and warping of the wood have continued, and last year, the tail part was damaged during Typhoon Hinnamnor, raising concerns about safety accidents.

The city concluded that even with maintenance, the durability period is only 7 to 8 years and that the turtle ship's utility value has declined, deciding to discard it. In February, the city announced a public auction for the sale of the turtle ship as shared property. The initial sale price was 117.5 million KRW.

However, due to the turtle ship's size and weight, making transportation difficult and its limited usability, it failed to find a buyer seven times and was auctioned off eight times. Finally, it was sold for the highest bid of 1.54 million KRW.

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