On October 7, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) approved the first-ever payment of inheritance tax with four artworks in Korea. This marks the first case of such an application since the introduction of the art payment system following the revision of the "Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act" on January 2, 2023, which allowed for cultural assets and artworks to be used for tax payments.
 
Out of the 10 artworks submitted for tax payment, four were approved: Sunrise (1991) by Lee Man-ik, Aggregation 08-JU072 BLUE (2008) by Chun Kwang Young, and two pieces by Zeng Fanzhi, Portrait (2007). These four approved artworks were transferred to the storage of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) on October 8 and will be showcased in various exhibitions for public viewing.

The art payment system allows specific assets, such as cultural heritage or artworks, to be used in place of cash for tax payments. Currently, Korea only operates this system for inheritance tax related to artworks and cultural assets.
 
The so-called “art in lieu of tax” system was introduced to preserve and manage significant cultural heritage and artworks as state assets, while also expanding public access to culture by showcasing them. This system, which has been in operation in major countries such as France, the UK, and Japan, became a subject of serious discussion in Korea following two key events: the auctioning of two nationally designated cultural heritage Buddha statues by the Kansong Art and Culture Foundation in 2020, and the donation of the "Lee Kun-hee Collection" by the family of Lee Kun-hee, the former chairman of Samsung Group in 2021.

References

• 문화체육관광부 보도자료 (The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, MCST Press Release)
• 한겨레, 미술품으로 상속세 내는 물납제 첫 사례 나왔다, 2024.10.07

Ji Yeon Lee has been working as an editor for the media art and culture channel AliceOn since 2021 and worked as an exhibition coordinator at samuso (now Space for Contemporary Art) from 2021 to 2023.