Restoration Costs 200 Million Won... Myeongdong 'LOVE' Sculpture Vandalized with Graffiti

Indiana's Iconic 'LOVE' Vandalized by Graffiti
CCTV Captures Foreign Man Scribbling on It

The iconic 'LOVE' sculpture by renowned American pop artist Robert Indiana, installed in Myeongdong, Seoul, was vandalized, prompting a police investigation.

According to Daishin Securities on the 26th, graffiti with the word 'ZOMBRA' was painted on Indiana's representative sculpture series 'LOVE' installed in front of the Daishin Financial Group headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.

'ZOMBRA,' meaning zombie in Italian, has reportedly been found several times recently in the Euljiro and Myeongdong areas as well.

The letter 'V' on the sculpture has the word 'ZOMBRA' written on it.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

CCTV installed near the artwork captured a man, presumed to be a foreigner, vandalizing the sculpture around 2 a.m. on the 21st.

A Daishin Financial Building official told JTBC in an interview, "The CCTV records only when there is movement," adding, "The footage shows the man standing after finishing the graffiti, but not the act of drawing itself."

The official said, "We purchased this artwork for 2.3 billion KRW, and after the artist's death, its value rose to around 5 billion KRW," adding, "Museums of modern art are working to remove the graffiti, which is expected to cost about 200 million KRW."

Previously, in 2016, Daishin Securities directly contacted the Robert Indiana Foundation to purchase the artwork when relocating their office from Yeouido.

'LOVE' sculptures are installed worldwide in places such as New York, San Francisco, Europe, and Asian countries, and this was the first case of a permanent installation in a public location in Seoul.

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