{
  "id": 15572364,
  "title": "Chief of national museum apologizes over wrongful attribution of item on display",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/chief-of-national-museum-apologizes-over-wrongful-attribution-of-item-15572364",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-19T06:47:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/koreanheritage/20261019/chief-of-national-museum-apologizes-over-wrongful-attribution-of-item-on-display"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The director of the National Museum of Korea, You Hong-june, offered a formal apology on Monday after it was discovered that a calligraphic work from his private collection had been wrongly attributed and displayed at the museum. During an annual parliamentary audit of the institution, You bowed his head twice and described the situation as a grave mistake and oversight.\n\nYou expressed deep regret to lawmakers, emphasizing that the public's trust in the museum and the value created through the diligent efforts of museum staff had been shattered by his grave error. He firmly stated that no academic explanation could serve as an excuse for the public's disappointment.\n\nThe controversy began in August when the calligraphic work titled \"Ilbansigukeun,\" meaning \"even a single bowl of rice is the grace of the nation,\" was featured in the museum's ongoing special exhibition, \"Our Dining Table.\" The piece was initially introduced as the work of Korean independence activist An Jung-geun, but it later emerged that the attribution was incorrect.\n\nYou took full responsibility for the verification error and apologized not only to the bereaved family of the late Korean independence activist but also to those who had placed deep trust in the museum. He acknowledged that the incident had caused significant disappointment among the public.",
  "summary": "The director of the National Museum of Korea issued a formal apology Monday after a calligraphic work from his private collection was found to have been wrongfully attributed and put on display at the museum. Speaking during an annual parliamentary audit of the museum, You Hong-june bowed his head twice and described the incident as a \"grave mistake and oversight.\" \"The deep trust the public has…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Chief of national museum apologizes over wrongful attribution of item on display",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/chief-of-national-museum-apologizes-over-wrongful-attribution-of-item",
        "published": "2026-10-19T05:34:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Chief of national museum apologizes over wrongful attribution of item on display",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/chief-of-national-museum-apologizes-over-wrongful-attribution-of-item-15568925",
        "published": "2026-10-19T06:12:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}