Angel statue in Sinan County, the hometown of former President Kim Dae-Jung, discovered to have been delivered by a fraudster (South Korea)

It has been revealed that the sculptor who supplied the "Angel Statue" to be installed on Haui Island in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, the hometown of the late former President Kim Dae-jung, falsified his educational background and work history.
According to an announcement by Sinan County on the 25th, the 12th Criminal Division of the Daegu District Court sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on the 20th on charges of fraud, etc., to two years and six months in prison with four years of probation.
The court said, "Mr. A falsely represented himself as a world-renowned sculptor and defrauded money." This is different from the case in Cheongdo County, North Gyeongsang Province, where he was also indicted and found guilty.
The court found Shinan County not guilty, stating, "We acknowledge that he falsified his background, but it is difficult to judge that he had the intent to commit fraud." After removing the angel statue sign, Shinan County
In 2018, Mr. A introduced himself as a professor at the University of Paris VII and a sculptor for the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Memorial Tower, falsely representing himself to Shinan County.
He proposed developing Haui Island, the hometown of former President Kim Dae-jung, into an "Island of Peace, Island of Angels," and promoted the installation of sculptures.
The county said that Mr. A was a war orphan, had a brilliant academic background in Paris, had exhibited at the Biennale, and was a disciple of a famous painter.
He said he had no choice but to believe it because it had been introduced to him. After that, over a two-year period starting in 2018, Mr. A installed a total of 321 pieces, including 318 angel sculptures and three other sculptures, on Haui Island and other locations.
The "Angel Statue Museum Without Fences" also opened in 2019. Mr. A received more than 1.9 billion won (about 200 million yen) from the county through this project.
After discovering that A's educational background and career history were false, the county removed the sign explaining the background to the sculpture's installation last year and replaced it with a guide that read,
The company also deleted the profile of Mr. A. It was revealed that the sculptures installed by Mr. A were brought from sculpture parks in the Philippines and China.
However, opinions were divided among the people of Sinan County as to whether the sculpture should be preserved.
"Who would want to see a work created by a fraudster?" said Kim, a resident of the county, who argued that "it should be removed even if it costs money." Meanwhile, Park said, "The sculpture is one of the tourist attractions in the area.
"It should be left as it is," he said, expressing his opinion that it should be preserved, saying, "There will certainly be tourists who come to see it." For now, Shinan County will wait to see whether the prosecution appeals the decision and then further evaluate public opinion.
The plan is to collect the items and decide whether to keep them. A county official said, "We didn't install the sculpture because we valued Mr. A's career, but because the sculpture itself has value, we are considering what to do."
Ta.