The city of Seoul is demolishing the work of painter Lim Ok-sang, who is on trial for indecent assault.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 28th that it would sequentially remove six of Lim’s works installed in municipal facilities starting in August. The city of Seoul explained the reason for the decision, saying, “We determined that maintaining and preserving the works of artists who caused social controversy did not conform to the purpose of public art.”

The works to be demolished are ‘Eyes of the Earth’ and ‘Navel of the World’ installed at Namsan Mountain Memorial Park for Japanese Military Sexual Slavery, ‘Drawing Seoul’ in front of Seosomun Government Complex in Seoul, ‘Bowl to Hold the Sky’ at Haneul Park, and ‘Seoul Forest’. A total of 6 points, including ‘Barrier-Free Playground’ and ‘Gwanghwamun바카라사이트 Station’, ‘History of Gwanghwamun’.

The city of Seoul is promoting the demolition of all six works.

However, in the case of ‘Eyes of the Earth’ and ‘Navel of the World’, which were installed in the Namsan Mountain Memorial Park for Japanese Military Comfort Women through donations from 19,755 citizens, after hearing the opinions of the fundraising participants and the construction promotion committee, the final demolition was decided. plan to decide.

Mr. Lim is a popular painter called ‘Candlelight Painter’. In 2017, his large-scale work ‘Standing in the Square’, which depicts the impeachment candlelight vigil in Gwanghwamun Square, was hung in the main building of the Blue House during the days of former President Moon, and became known to the public.

However, in 2013, he was indicted without detention last month for forcibly harassing employee A, who was working at his art lab. He admitted his charges at the first trial held on the 6th, and the prosecution asked for a year in prison.

As Mr. Lim’s ‘Me Too’ incident was revealed on the surface, the question of whether or not to remove the works installed in various public institutions was on the cutting board.

On the 7th, the day after the first trial, the National Assembly Library immediately removed Lim’s work from hanging in the hallway of the building.

Among his works, Namsan’s ‘Remembrance Site’, a sculpture erected to commemorate the comfort women victims, was particularly controversial. Voices arose that it was inappropriate for a memorial work for comfort women produced by the person who caused the sexual misconduct to be installed in a public memorial space.

The site of remembrance of comfort women for the Japanese military is a memorial space for comfort women victims prepared in the former residence of the Japanese Governor-General of Korea. The names of 247 comfort women victims are engraved on this piece. It was built in 2016, when former mayor Park Won-soon was in office.