[Anchor]

It was recently revealed that a piece of calligraphy by a pro-Japanese collaborator, which was exhibited as the calligraphy of a patriotic martyr, was actually part of the personal collection of National Museum of Korea Director Yu Hong-jun. As the controversy grew, Director Yu offered to resign, and President Lee Jae-myung accepted his resignation.

Reporter Kim Gyeong-hui has the details.

[Reporter]

During a parliamentary audit, National Museum of Korea Director Yu Hong-jun bowed his head in apology regarding the controversy over submitting his own pro-Japanese calligraphy for exhibition, but refrained from mentioning the word resignation.

[Yu Hong-jun / Director, National Museum of Korea: I will make sure such a mistake is never repeated...]

[Yoon Yong-keun / People Power Party Lawmaker: Do you think that fulfills your responsibility?]

[Yu Hong-jun / Director, National Museum of Korea: I believe we need to overhaul the system.]

However, just two days later, he offered to resign, stating, "I have reached the conclusion that stepping down is the right thing to do to restore the tarnished reputation of the museum."

This comes 15 months after taking office.

Previously, it was confirmed that the calligraphy exhibited at the National Museum of Korea as the work of independence activist Park Won-geun was actually written by a pro-Japanese collaborator. It was further revealed that this artwork was a personal piece that Director Yu had purchased for 50,000 won through an online auction and that he had personally recommended it for the exhibition.

Director Yu stated that the deep trust the public placed in the National Museum of Korea and the value built up by the museum staff collapsed in an instant due to his mistake, adding that all criticism is entirely his responsibility.

An art historian by training, Director Yu became well-known for his "My Cultural Heritage Tour" book series, but faced various controversies during his career in public service.

During his tenure as the Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, he held a luncheon event using cooking appliances at a royal tomb where cooking was prohibited, and even purchased and distributed his own books using the agency's budget.

He also faced criticism for being on a trip abroad that was criticized as sightseeing when the Sungnyemun Gate fire occurred.

Following this incident, which broke out just as the National Museum of Korea leaped to the world's third-largest museum in terms of visitor numbers, there are loud calls to overhaul the verification systems for artifacts and exhibition items.

(Video Journalist: Oh Se-kwan | Video Editing: Kim Ho-jin | Design: Han Heung-su)