The police launched an investigation after receiving a complaint claiming that they had been scammed in the tens of billions of won by a person who offered to sell the works of famous artists such as Lee Jung-seop and Kim Whan-ki instead.
Yesterday (7th), according to the police, Seoul Eunpyeong Police Station booked Mr. A (50), who is suspected of fraud and embezzlement, and is investigating.
Mr. A approaches Mr. B (59), who is an art collector and runs a gallery, took the paintings and jewelry to sell them instead, and is accused of embezzling the sales without returning them.
According to the complaint, Mr. B was introduced to Mr. A through an acquaintance at the end of last year.
Mr. A approached, saying, "I run a gallery in Ilsan and know a lot of big money," and in the process, it is said that he emphasized his friendship with former high-ranking officials.
Then, Mr. A said, “I am free to make appraisals because the former prosecutor general is looking after me, and I am confident in selling paintings because I have the gallery association in my hands.”
The paintings suspected of cheating by Mr. A are two works by Kim Hwan-ki (valued at 7 billion won and 5 billion won, respectively) and two works by Lee Jung-seop (valued at 4 billion won each).
In addition, Mr. B stated in the complaint that Mr. A took a total of 10 points, including one work by Chun Kyung-ja and two works by Park Soo-geun, which were not evaluated.
Mr. B claimed, "Mr. A intentionally approached me aiming for my collection, and instead sued me for a fake painting."
The Gwangjin Police Station, which first received the case in September, conducted an investigation of the complainant and handed the case over to the Eunpyeong Police Station at the end of the same month, considering the suspect's residence.
The police will soon call in Mr. A to investigate the suspect.