{
  "id": 15887738,
  "title": "National museum chief resigns over misattributed work from private collection",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/national-museum-chief-resigns-over-misattributed-work-from-private-15887738",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-21T12:37:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20261021/national-museum-chief-resigns-over-misattributed-work-from-private-collection"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "You Hong-june, the director of the National Museum of Korea, announced his resignation on Wednesday due to a controversy surrounding a misattributed calligraphic work from his private collection. President Lee Jae Myung accepted his resignation. You had faced intense criticism after the piece, penned by a supporter of Japanese rule during Korea's colonial period from 1910 to 1945, was inaccurately credited to a Korean independence activist and was later discovered to belong to his personal collection. The museum promptly removed the disputed item from its ongoing special exhibition in response to the uproar. In a statement addressed to reporters, You confessed to stepping down to restore the museum's damaged reputation. He lamented, \"The deep trust the public has placed in the National Museum of Korea and the value our staff has built collapsed in an instant because of my personal mistake.\" You emphasized that all criticism regarding this matter was his sole responsibility. A renowned art historian and author of the best-selling book series \"My Exploration of Cultural Heritage,\" You expressed remorse over the incident.",
  "summary": "You Hong-june, director of the National Museum of Korea, resigned Wednesday amid a controversy over the museum's display of a misattributed calligraphic work from his private collection. He offered to resign earlier in the day, and President Lee Jae Myung accepted his resignation. You came under fire after the piece, written by a prominent pro-Japanese collaborator during Japan's 1910-45 colonial…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "National museum chief offers to resign over misattributed work from private collection",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/national-museum-chief-offers-to-resign-over-misattributed-work-from-15838202",
        "published": "2026-10-21T01:54:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "National museum chief offers to resign over misattributed work from private collection",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/national-museum-chief-offers-to-resign-over-misattributed-work-from",
        "published": "2026-10-21T02:27:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ERR News Estonia",
        "title": "Museum Association warns against politicization of Estonian National Museum",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/museum-association-warns-against-politicization-of-estonian-national",
        "published": "2026-10-21T05:51:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}