Culture and Sports Committee criticizes Yoo Hong-jun's 'self-submission of collection'... “Quit cleanly” (comprehensive)

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Gyeong-jong and Park Jae-ha = At ​​the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's inspection of the National Museum of Korea on the 19th, the ruling and opposition parties unanimously criticized the controversy over the exhibition and verification of Director Yoo Hong-jun's personal collection.

The controversy at issue was the process of displaying and withdrawing the special exhibition 'Our Table' by Yu Mook, 'General Current Affairs' (meaning that even a bowl of rice is a blessing to the country), which was revealed to be a collection of items from Director Yoo's personal collection.

The writing was initially introduced as the handwriting of patriot Park Won-geun, but just a month after the opening, suspicions were raised that it was the handwriting of Park Jung-yang (1874-1959), a pro-Japanese and anti-national activist.

Afterwards, the museum removed the work and began a re-examination, and after verifying it with seven experts in the fields of calligraphy, modern and contemporary history, ancient literature, and conservation science, they concluded that it was Park Jung-yang's handwriting.

Accordingly, Director Yoo apologized for the controversy during the work report process and personally bowed twice to apologize.

However, Rep. Cho Eun-hee, secretary of the People Power Party, called for Director Yoo's resignation, saying, "We cannot receive work reports from the head of the agency who must resign."

Rep. Kim Seok-gi of the same party said, “The demolition of a pro-Japanese work after recommending it as the handwriting of a patriot left a stain on the 80-year history of the National Museum of Korea.”

Rep. Kim Seung-soo also pointed out, “Showing privately owned relics to a museum exhibition is a decisive factor in determining the price of the relics,” and added, “The director’s direct display of his own items clearly violates the museum’s ethics regulations and constitutes a conflict of interest for public officials.”

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin raised suspicions that the National Museum of Korea gave systematic preferential treatment, such as arbitrarily changing evaluation standards and shredding bidding documents, to give the right to operate the cafe to the company of the former sponsoring chairman, and urged an immediate investigation.

Criticism toward Director Yoo also came from the ruling party.

Representative Choi Min-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea raised the issue of the fact that the museum and Director Yoo did not disclose that the ink in question was from Director Yoo's personal collection while apologizing on a total of four occasions for insufficient verification of exhibits.

Rep. Choi said, “Why didn’t you reveal that you were the person who filed the complaint at that time?” and added, “I think this matter got bigger because you didn’t acknowledge the fact (your complaint) at the time.”

At the same time, he pointed out, “This is a situation that may raise questions about whether there was instruction or coercion from the head of the institution in exhibiting the work.”

Director Yoo said, "The special exhibition was planned two years before I took office, and there was discussion about whether 'General Current Affairs' should be displayed as a panel or as a work of art. If there is a work, the principle is to use it as a relic."

On this day, the ruling and opposition parties clashed fiercely, with People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seok-ki taking issue with the content of the question asked by Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-jung.

Rep. Kim pointed out that the National Folk Museum of Korea's special exhibition on North Korea displayed photos of North Korea's North Korean flag and books for propaganda of the North Korean regime, which did not fit the purpose of the special exhibition, which was to introduce North Korean folk culture before liberation.

Afterwards, Chairman Lee asked Director Jang about the relevant content and pointed out, "There are questions as to whether the materials were appropriate for the purpose of the museum's planning, but turning this into an issue of right and wrong is another form of censorship."

In response, Rep. Kim shouted and protested to Rep. Lee, saying, “A fellow member is requesting correction of mistakes in the National Assembly audit. Are you calling this censorship?” Chairman Lee explained, “I was never commenting on Rep. Kim’s question.”

Meanwhile, Park Chung-hee, director of the National Theater of Korea, who appeared as an institutional witness on this day, was expelled from the conference room right before the meeting due to his attitude in answering questions.

At the end of the meeting, Chairman Lee again mentioned the suspicion that the National Theater Company unilaterally notified some actors of their withdrawal ahead of overseas and local performances of the play 'Typhoon'.

When Director Park was not given the right to speak in this regard, he crossed his arms as a sign of dissatisfaction, and Chairman Lee took issue with this and ordered Director Park to leave.