South Korea Approves New Museum Dedicated to Late Samsung Chairman’s Art Collection

The finance ministry of South Korea recently announced it had approved the feasibility review to build the new art museum to display the art works collected by Lee Kun-hee, the late Samsung chairman who passed away in 2020.

The museum received regulatory approval on July and is expected to be built in central Seoul in 2028.

After Lee’s death, his family donated 23,000 items from Korean and Western artists — including Kim Whan-ki, Claude Monet, Mark Rothko, Francis Bacon, and Salvador Dali — to seven South Korean museums. As previously reported by ARTnews correspondent Andrew Russeth, Lee’s heirs were facing a $11 billion estate tax bill, the highest in the country’s history, and the gift allowed them to avoid those taxes.

Lee was also a controversial figure. In addition to being the richest person in the country, he was convicted twice on tax and corruption-related charges and pardoned twice by past presidents.

In 2021, South Korea announced it had decided to build a new museum in Seoul’s Jongno Ward. The location was chosen due to its proximity to other museums and art galleries, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, where 1,200 works from Lee’s collection were donated.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also said the proximity of the 9,787-square-meter plot in Songhyeon-dong would allow for easier collaboration with art experts and professionals. The museum is expected to vitalize cultural tourism in central Seoul, and currently carries a budget of 118.6 billion won (US$93.5 million).

The news of the approval of the feasibility review was first reported by the Yohap News Agency.