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Heritage status of Joseon Dynasty document set to be canceled after stolen property revelation

Published: 11 Mar. 2025, 16:41

YIM SEUNG-HYE
[email protected]

A Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) legal text known as "Daemyeongnyul" (The Great Ming Code), which was listed as a treasure in 2016, may soon lose the honor it was given nine years ago after it was discovered to be stolen property.

The Korea Heritage Service announced Tuesday that it will take the unprecedented step of revoking the designation of the treasure designation unless objections are raised within 30 days.

While national treasures and state-designated cultural assets have previously been delisted due to re-evaluations of their significance, this marks the first time that a designation itself could be canceled — in the case that no objections are made.

Printed in 1389 during the Ming Dynasty, "Daemyeongnyul" is a critical legal text that formed the foundation of Joseon-era criminal law. The version designated as a treasure was believed to be the only surviving edition of its kind. Its significance was widely recognized when a private museum owner, identified only as A, applied for its designation through the local government in North Gyeongsang and the Korea Heritage Service, claiming it had been a family heirloom passed down for generations.

However, just four months after receiving treasure status, the second-highest rank after national treasure status, the book became the center of a criminal investigation.

In November 2016, authorities conducting a special cultural heritage crackdown discovered that this cultural item was stolen property. Police investigations revealed that A had purchased the text in 2012 for 15 million won ($11,000) from a dealer who specialized in stolen antiquities. A had allegedly promised the dealer an additional 10 million won if the book was designated as a treasure, but failed to pay. Feeling betrayed, the dealer exposed the book’s illicit origins.

In 2022, A was sentenced to three years in prison for violating the Act on Conservation and Utilization of Cultural Heritage.

According to the Korea Heritage Service, the book’s original owners were the descendants of the Ryu clan, who had safeguarded it at Yukshindang, a Confucian school in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, since 1878.

In 1998, the family reported to local authorities that 81 artifacts, including "Daemyeongnyul" and the school’s wooden plaque, had disappeared. The theft was formally reported to the Korea Heritage Service in 2011.

The heritage service, however, had initially failed to recognize that the book submitted for treasure designation was the same stolen "Daemyeongnyul."

Following A’s conviction, the Korea Heritage Service sought legal advice on how to handle the designation’s status. Officials determined that the book’s designation had a “fundamental procedural flaw” and decided to revoke it entirely.

The case has reignited concerns about the thoroughness of Koreas cultural heritage designation process.

Currently, when an individual applies for a treasure or national treasure designation, the request is first reviewed by local government cultural heritage committees before undergoing further examination by the Korea Heritage Service and a panel of experts.

In the case of the "Daemyeongnyul" in question, it underwent a multistage review involving North Gyeongsang’s Cultural Heritage Committee and evaluations by at least three independent experts before receiving its treasure status in 2016. Some scholars argue that a more rigorous verification system is necessary.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [[email protected]]