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SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- You Hong-june, director of the National Museum of Korea, offered to resign Wednesday amid a controversy over the museum's display of a misattributed calligraphic work from his private collection.
He came under fire after the piece was wrongly introduced as the work of a Korean independence activist before later being found to have been written by a prominent pro-Japanese collaborator during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.
The museum removed the item from its ongoing special exhibition following the controversy.
You Hong-june, director of the National Museum of Korea (Yonhap)
In a statement sent to reporters, You said he has concluded that he should step down "to restore the museum's tarnished honor."
"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," he said. "All criticism over this matter is entirely my responsibility."
You, a prominent art historian and author of the bestselling book series "My Exploration of Cultural Heritage," apologized twice and bowed before lawmakers at a parliamentary audit on Monday. However, calls for his resignation persisted from figures in the cultural sector and opposition politicians, who said an apology was insufficient to take responsibility for the fiasco.
You served as head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, now the Korea Heritage Service, from 2004 to 2008 before becoming director of the museum in July last year.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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