MMCA Seoul ©Seoul Tourism Organization
According to the Korean art world on May 13, the position of the chief curator of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) has been vacant for two years since the expiration of former chief curator Gim Jun-gi’s term in May 2022.
Under the previous director Yun Bummo, an internal candidate was selected as the final candidate through a public search, but it was canceled due to various controversies, and the museum has been operating under an acting system for a long time without a successor. The museum held an open recruitment for the position in December of last year, after Kim Sung-hee took over as director. Interviews were held for three candidates who passed the document screening process, but the museum did not announce the successful candidate in February, saying there were no qualified candidates.
This is not the first time the MMCA has faced a personnel vacuum. Last year, after the resignation of former director Yun Bummo, the museum was left without a director for five months, with both the director and the chief curator operating on an acting basis.
MMCA is Korea’s leading museum, but it has been pointed out that the prolonged vacancy of the chief curator is affecting the museum’s operations and exhibition planning.
On the 13th, the museum announced that it will recruit for a new chief curator later this month so that a successor can be decided in the second half of the year.
