Home > Culture > Korean Heritage

Historic book de-listed as a state treasure after it was discovered to be stolen

Published: 29 Apr. 2025, 16:16

A Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) legal text known as the ″Daemyeongnyul″ (The Great Ming Code), which was listed as a treasure in 2016, lost the honor it was given nine years ago after it was discovered to be stolen property. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

A Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) legal text known as the "Daemyeongnyul" (The Great Ming Code), listed as a treasure in 2016, has been removed from the list after it was discovered that it had been purchased as a stolen book.

The Korea Heritage Service on Tuesday announced through the government official gazette that it is canceling the administrative disposition related to the “Daemyeongnyul” as a treasure, an unprecedented move.

This is the first time a treasure has been canceled as a national cultural heritage.

The Korea Heritage Service said the cancellation was a follow-up measure considering the guilty verdict and execution of punishment due to the book's false designation.

Printed in approximately 1389 during China's Ming Dynasty, the "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 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.

A Joseon Dynasty (1392?1910) legal text known as the ″Daemyeongnyul″ (The Great Ming Code), as seen at the time of its designation as a treasure in 2016. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

In November 2016, authorities conducting a special cultural heritage crackdown discovered that this cultural item was stolen property. Police investigations revealed that the museum owner had purchased the text in 2012 for 15 million won ($11,000) from a dealer who specialized in stolen antiquities.

The museum owner 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, the museum owner 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 the "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."

Even if the designation as a treasure is canceled, the value of the cultural heritage is not lost.

If it is determined that the value of the cultural heritage has been lost or has become worthless, procedures for de-designation begin. In the case of the “Daemyungnyul,” the value of the heritage remains the same, but the designation procedure was problematic.

If the ownership is determined in the future, the book could be re-designated as a treasure through an application.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]