The Late Cheon Kyung-ja's Family Loses First Trial in 'Misindo Forgery' Case for State Compensation

The family of the late artist Cheon Kyung-ja filed a lawsuit against the state seeking damages, claiming that the prosecution declared a forged artwork as genuine while investigating the forgery controversy surrounding "Miindo," but they lost in the first trial.

On the 21st, Judge Choi Hyung-joon of the Civil Division 214 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled against Professor Kim Jeong-hee, daughter of the late artist Cheon, in the first trial of her 100 million won damage claim lawsuit against the state. Professor Kim is a faculty member at Montgomery University in the United States.

Immediately after the verdict, Professor Kim's side stated, "At the time, the prosecution suddenly changed the direction of the investigation, obscuring the essence of the case and launched a determination on the authenticity of 'Miindo,' making a large-scale announcement that it was genuine based on unfounded logic, misleading the public. The truth is not covered up just because the court ignored the complaint. As a child, I have done what I had to do, so I have no regrets and will maintain the same stance going forward." She added, "Due to the difficulty in securing direct evidence to prove the prosecution's illegal acts, this lawsuit was not easy," and said she would consider whether to appeal.

The late artist Cheon Kyung-ja, who passed away in 2015, protested to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art that "Miindo" was a fake, claiming it was her work. However, when her claim was not accepted, she declared she would stop painting and left for the United States in 1991, saying, "What kind of parent doesn't know if a child is theirs or not?"

After the late artist Cheon's death, her family consistently asserted that "Miindo" was a forgery and even commissioned the French appraisal company Lumi?re Technology, which reported a "0.0002% probability of authenticity." On the other hand, during the investigation of officials at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the prosecution judged that "Miindo" was a work by the late artist Cheon.

Professor Kim claimed that she suffered mental damages because the prosecution concluded that "Miindo" was genuine through illegal investigations and filed a lawsuit in 2019. She also alleged that there were attempts to persuade appraisal committee members who gave opinions of forgery and that false information that could influence the appraisal was provided to the committee members, affecting the appraisal results. However, the first trial did not accept Professor Kim's claims.

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