Min Hyungbae: "Bill to Attract the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to Gwangju Passes National Assembly Committee"

Min Hyungbae, Member of the National Assembly.

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The amendment to the “Museum and Art Gallery Act,” proposed by Representative Min Hyungbae (Gwangsan-eul, Gwangju) of the Democratic Party of Korea, was passed as originally drafted by the National Assembly's standing committee on the 21st. As a result, the possibility of attracting a branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) to the Honam region, which currently has none, is expected to increase.

The amendment to the “Museum and Art Gallery Act,” passed as originally drafted by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, was first proposed by Representative Min on October 18 last year. It aims to promote the balanced establishment of local museums and art galleries by region.

Currently, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has branches in Gwacheon, Deoksugung, and Seoul in the capital region; Cheongju and Daejeon (scheduled to open in 2026) in the central region; and Jinju in the Yeongnam region (with a preliminary feasibility study funded by the national budget in 2024) either already operating or in progress. In contrast, there is not a single branch in the Honam region.

Since the opening of the 22nd National Assembly, Representative Min has consistently worked to attract a Gwangju branch. In last year's first parliamentary audit, he emphasized to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism the need to establish a Gwangju branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. During this year's budget review, as the chairman of the subcommittee on budget and settlement, he secured 1.2 billion KRW for a feasibility study on establishing a regional national art museum. Unfortunately, this year's budget was a reduced one and was not included in the government proposal. However, since the government agreed, there is a high possibility it will be included in a future supplementary budget. With the passage of the bill providing a legal basis for allocating funds to attract the Gwangju branch, the likelihood of realization is considered high.

Representative Min pointed out, “The concentration of museums and art galleries in the capital region and the exclusion of the Honam region is an issue that must be resolved.” He emphasized, “I will do my utmost to secure the related budget in the next supplementary budget and to ensure the passage of the amendment to the Museum and Art Gallery Act in the plenary session to attract the Gwangju branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.”

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