The Court Calls the Price of Antique

“The objective price of a celadon that the accused hid is estimated at about 700 million won. As it is an unprecedented case in the court, we made the decision after painstaking discussion.”

For the first time in the court’s history, the market price of an expensive antique celadon was decided in a trial.

It was confirmed on September 21 that the Seoul High Court made such a ruling on September 14 in an appeals case of Lim (52), a seller of antiques who was prosecuted for hiding another person’s celadon.

The court said, “The value of the celadon should be decided first, as the law and the sentence that Lim will face will differ according to the price.”

The celadon in question is made in the 12th century in Goryeo Dynasty. The court said it has not been traded domestically. The court said, “The bid price for the celadon was $ 717,500 (about 700 million won) in Christie`s New York auctions in April 1997,” adding, “We decided the price of the celadon, taking into account the statement made by the accused in the police.”

Ji-Seong Jeon verso@donga.com