President Lee Accepts Yoo Hongjun's Resignation Over 'Self-Submitted' Calligraphy by Pro-Japanese Collaborator

President Lee Jae-myung accepted the resignation of Yoo Hongjun, director of the National Museum of Korea, on October 21. Yoo had said he would step down amid controversy over the display of calligraphy by a figure with a pro-Japanese record and inadequate vetting.

Kang Yujeong, senior presidential spokesperson, announced that afternoon that “President Lee approved Director Yoo’s resignation.”

National Museum of Korea Director Yoo Hongjun waits with his eyes closed for the audit to begin during a parliamentary audit of the National Museum of Korea and other institutions at the National Assembly on October 19, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju

Earlier, Yoo publicly announced his decision to resign, saying, “The deep trust that the people have placed in the National Museum of Korea and the values built up by our museum staff have all collapsed in an instant because of my personal mistake.”

The controversy was sparked after calligraphy that Yoo had personally owned was featured in a recent special exhibition at the National Museum of Korea as the work of patriot Park Wongun. It was later revealed to be the work of Park Jungyang, a pro-Japanese, anti-national collaborator. Yoo faced fierce criticism after it also emerged that he had bought the piece at an online auction in 2019 for 50,000 won and personally recommended it for the exhibition just over two months before its opening.

Meanwhile, Kang said that the president had also approved a proposal to dismiss a civilian member of the Presidential Committee on the National AI Strategy, which is directly under the president, following controversy over the member’s inappropriate conduct.

The dismissed member was identified as visiting professor Kim of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Professor Kim caused an uproar after posting on social media that he had personally developed and used a macro program to look up KTX train tickets, drawing criticism that such conduct was inappropriate for a member of a committee affiliated with the government.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.