National Museum of Korea Chief Offers to Resign Over Misattributed Calligraphy
Director You Hong-june offered to step down after a calligraphic work from his private collection was wrongly presented as the work of an independence activist and later linked to a pro-Japanese collaborator.
You Hong-june, director of the National Museum of Korea, offered to resign Wednesday after the institution displayed a wrongly attributed calligraphic work from his private collection, deepening scrutiny of the museum’s verification procedures and leadership accountability.
The disputed piece was introduced as the work of a Korean independence activist. It was later determined to have been written by a prominent pro-Japanese collaborator during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. The museum removed the item from its ongoing special exhibition after the attribution controversy emerged.
In a statement sent to reporters, You said he had concluded that stepping down was necessary to restore the museum’s damaged reputation. He accepted full responsibility for the incident, saying that public trust in the institution and the value built by its staff had been undermined by his personal mistake.
The resignation offer followed two apologies and an appearance at a parliamentary audit on Monday, where You bowed before lawmakers. Those gestures did not end criticism from opposition politicians and figures in the cultural sector, some of whom argued that an apology alone was not enough given the historical sensitivity of the error and the museum’s standing as a leading national cultural institution.
The case centers not only on an incorrect label but also on the sharp contrast between the two identities involved. A work initially associated with resistance to Japanese colonial rule was instead connected to a collaborator with imperial Japan, making the attribution especially consequential in the context of modern Korean history.
You is a prominent art historian and the author of the bestselling book series “My Exploration of Cultural Heritage.” He previously led the Cultural Heritage Administration, now called the Korea Heritage Service, from 2004 to 2008. He became director of the National Museum of Korea in July 2025.
His offer now places the next decision with the authorities responsible for the museum’s leadership. The controversy is also likely to intensify attention on how privately owned works are authenticated, reviewed and described before they enter public exhibitions. The museum has not only had to correct the record by removing the piece, but must also address concerns about how the mistake passed through its institutional safeguards.