▲ 'Gongsuraegongsugeo' (Coming Empty-Handed, Going Empty-Handed) by Ho-Am Lee Byung-chul
A piece of calligraphy by Ho-Am Lee Byung-chul, the late founder of Samsung Group, has been sold at auction for 100 million won.
According to K-Auction on Tuesday (July 21), the calligraphy piece titled 'Gongsuraegongsugeo' (Coming empty-handed, going empty-handed), previously owned by the monthly magazine 'Samtoh', was sold for 100 million won in a premium online auction that closed on the same day.
The starting bid for the piece was 15 million won, with an estimated value between 19 million and 40 million won.
The online auction began on July 11, and after multiple bids were placed through Tuesday, the final hammer price reached 100 million won, which is 2.5 times the upper end of the estimated price.
The identity of the successful bidder has not been disclosed.
The work was written by Lee in 1981 for the late Kim Jae-soon (1923–2016), a former National Assembly Speaker and founder of 'Samtoh', and had been displayed in the magazine's chairman's office for a long time.
However, as 'Samtoh' entered an indefinite hiatus following its January issue this year due to financial difficulties, the magazine put its collection up for auction, leading to a change in ownership for the piece.
(Photo: Courtesy of K-Auction, Yonhap News)
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