It was reported on the 10th that Chief Executive Officer Lee Ok-kyung of Seoul Auction, a domestic art auction company, was fined 50 million won in the first trial of a case in which she was indicted on charges of violating the tariff law. Seoul Auction, the corporation indicted on the same charge, was also fined 50 million won.
On the 4th, Presiding Judge Park Chan-beom of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 15 single-judge bench sentenced CEO Lee and Seoul Auction, who were indicted on charges of violating the tariff law, to fines of 50 million won each.
According to the judgment, Seoul Auction and CEO Lee were brought to trial in June on charges of filing false export and import declarations for artworks in the process of acting as an agent for the Hong Kong subsidiary's art auctions.
In June 2020, to submit to a Hong Kong auction, CEO Lee was found to have exported to Hong Kong an artwork owned by consignor A in Korea, who had signed a consignment contract with the Hong Kong subsidiary, and to have declared Seoul Auction as the owner of the artwork to conceal the actual owner. Lee and Seoul Auction are accused of having falsely declared exports for five artworks with an estimated value of 3.19 billion won on two occasions using this method through July of the same year.
In addition, in July 2020, when bringing into Korea an artwork won at a Hong Kong auction by Korean national B, CEO Lee is also suspected of having falsely declared Seoul Auction as the importer and taxpayer to conceal the actual winning bidder. Lee and Seoul Auction were found to have falsely declared imports for six artworks with an estimated value of 3.34 billion won on three occasions using this method through April 2021.
The first trial found CEO Lee and Seoul Auction guilty of violating the tariff law. Articles 241 and 276 of the tariff law stipulate that "to export or import goods, one must declare to the head of customs the item name, specifications, quantity, and price of the goods, and other matters prescribed by Presidential Decree, and one must not fail to declare such matters or file a false declaration."
The court said, "The offenses in this case raise concerns that they could encourage violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act or tax laws, so the court does not view them lightly," but added, "However, it is a favorable circumstance that the defendants admit to the offenses and pledge to comply with export and import methods and procedures going forward."