Authorities have caught the most significant relic thieves in Korean history. They had approximately 2,300 items worth roughly W10 billion all amassed in one place, enough to make you think you were looking at an outdoor museum. They took off with whatever they could get their hands on, even insurance documents from the Japanese colonial era, and the gang's members included a former official with the Korea Antique Art Association. They were able to strut around the country in a truck with a crane attached to it, and that tells you that the state of cultural properties management is a mess. According to CHA figures, in March alone a statue of Buddha was stolen from Gosan temple in Daejeon, 36 items were stolen from the Gyeonggi University museum, 3 dolmens were stolen from a site in South Gyeongsang province, 400 old documents were stolen from Daejeon's Jewoldang, and Gangneung's Seon'gyojang saw 163 old documents stolen from its possession. It's as if there's a heist every day.
These thieves should be punished sternly punished because they eat away at the spirit of the ancestors and commit crimes that destroy history. Those in charge of artifacts that have been stolen should be held strictly responsible. This case reminds you of how preserving cultural properties in their original state is no less important than painting and shining them up, because once they land in the hands of thieves they are carried around recklessly and in the process get damaged, sometimes permanently. Neglecting other artifacts just because they are not officially designated cultural properties just invites thieves. That is why there has to be a review of whether the budget being poured out for restoring temples and ruins is being wasted or is unbalanced.
The Hankyoreh, 2 April 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]