Key facts
- The culture ministry will audit the former National Museum of Korea chief.
- The audit follows the misattribution of a calligraphic work.
- The work was displayed as by an independence activist but was by a pro-Japanese collaborator.
- The piece belonged to the former chief's private collection.
SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's culture ministry will conduct a thorough audit of the former National Museum of Korea chief who resigned over the museum's controversial display of a misattributed calligraphic work from his private collection. You Hong-june stepped down earlier this week after the museum wrongly displayed the calligraphy in an exhibition as the work of a Korean independence activist. The piece was later identified as the work of a prominent pro-Japanese collaborator during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea and turned out to be from You's own private collection. Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young stated during a parliamentary audit that the incident damaged the museum's reputation and public trust. The ministry aims to restore confidence through a rigorous investigation that will examine alleged abuse of authority and all procedures involved in the management and authentication of the exhibit.