Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

Con-artist museum owner is exposed as a fraud

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2895518

October 01, 2008
A 60-year-old museum owner in Gongju, South Chungcheong, identified only by the last name Yu, drives a luxury imported car worth 160 million won ($132,560). He has earned hundreds of millions of won over the past four years, as tens of thousands of people from across the country have visited his museum to see his collection of relics, which includes such treasures as Goryeo celadon and Joseon white porcelain. Also, as a doctorate degree holder and winner of a presidential citation, he frequently gave speeches at universities, and has published books.

Yu, however, has been faking it. This fact was revealed recently when he began to be investigated by police on suspicion that he had someone torch the car of a rival.

According to Gongju police, 153 of the 184 artifacts Yu was exhibiting in his museum were fakes. Police said Yu purchased cheap ceramics at flea markets across the country and falsely labelled them to entice people to visit his museum. Experts from the Gongju National Museum recently inspected the items and confirmed that only 31 are originals.

Since the private museum was established in August 2004, it has had over 130,000 visitors and earned about 530 million won in entrance fees.

But the museum turned out to be just the beginning. Police also found that he had faked a degree in Oriental medicine, having only graduated from elementary school. With the fraudulent degree, he produced 800 pills and sold them for 240 million won, claiming they promoted proper nutrition.

The doctorate degree from an overseas university and prizes from the president and prime minister hanging on the wall of the museum? Also fakes, police said.

�We think that there are more victims, so we are still investigating him,� said a police officer who asked not to be named. �We will focus on finding his additional fraudulent acts.�


By Park Sang-woo Staff Reporter [[email protected]]

[wylies99]

[TheChickenLover]

He's a perfect example of "Sparkling Korea".

Of course he may go to jail, get sick and will be pardoned a few months later on budda's b-day.

Life goes on...

Chicken

[sojourner1]

Wow, I know of a Yu family that is ultra rich.

[Ruraljuror]

Are you talking about the Yu family that lives near the Kim family? Cuz I think I know them too. A little on the short side, with dark black hair?

Good people.

[Papa Smurf]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[gypsyfish]

I swear to god, I thought this was about a con artist museum and couldn't help but wonder why anyone was surprised that it was a fraud.

[wylies99]

[sojusucks]

[mindmetoo]

I'm sure he could have put a plastic ray gun in his collection and claimed direct energy weapons were a creation of the Shilla kingdom and Koreans would have slavishly paid their admission.

Reminds me a bit of the Seoul Science museum which features a diorama of the Apollo moon landing, although oddly they replaced the American flag with a Korean flag. Hmmm.

[mee]

thank goodness tricksters take it too far and get caught, huh?

Otherwise, they make a damn good living. If only he hadn't torched that guy's car. Idiot. Got greedy. Rival? Like he didn't have enough money as it was to retire very well anyways. bastard

[Rteacher]

Thank God there's not much fraud and greed throughout the world - or we might be facing a global economic meltdown !

[wylies99]

Actually, I wonder how many other "museums" are actually scams.
There's one in Seoul, and I won't mention the name, that sure seems to be little more than an excuse to charge busloads of kiddies admission fees.

[mindmetoo]