In addition to being a K-Pop idol as part of WINNER, member Mino (Song Minho) is also a recognized artist who made his debut in 2019. In December 2022, he held his first-ever solo exhibition—though it has since been revealed that a transaction from this exhibition went wrong, leaving the idol and artist in an ongoing lawsuit.
JTBC‘s Crime Chief reported that “Buyer A” purchased Mino’s artwork, titled “I Thought,” at the solo exhibition for ₩25.0 million KRW (about $ 17,500 USD). Buyer A told the investigative TV program that he attended the exhibition and purchased the artwork through the gallery handling consignment sales. Buyer A paid for the artwork in full in three installments and obtained a receipt.
Buyer A, however, has never received the artwork from Mino. According to Buyer A, the artwork was scheduled to be delivered in February 2023 after the exhibition. The gallery, however, kept delaying the delivery, citing international exhibition schedules and other reasons.
Mino commented that he didn’t even sell the artwork to YG Entertainment‘s Yang Hyun Suk.
— Gallery to Buyer A
Then, Crime Chief reported, the gallery curator told Buyer A that Mino expressed to the gallery that he no longer wished to sell the artwork. Instead, the curator told Buyer A, Mino had agreed to create a similar but new artwork for the price paid.
Buyer A protested, asking the gallery and Mino why the artwork was priced and sold if it was not intended for sale. Soon enough, Buyer A found out that the artwork in question had never been intended for sale—as it had already been reserved for sale by one of Mino’s well-known singer friends. At this point, Mino blamed the gallery for having sold the artwork without his consent.
According to Buyer A, it was when they filed a civil lawsuit against Mino after being denied the artwork they paid for, that Mino claimed he had agreed to hand over the artwork. During the first trial, the court ruled that Mino was at fault for withholding the artwork for two years and ordered “the artwork must be delivered to the buyer, or if delivery is not possible, the purchase amount must be refunded.”
Buyer A has since requested Mino to pay back ₩40.0 million KRW (about $ 28,000 USD) in addition to the artwork in compensation for the legal battle.
The lawsuit cost at least ₩20.0 million KRW (about $ 14,000 USD) in attorney fees, and considering additional litigation expenses and emotional distressed over the two years, the compensation amount is reasonable.
— Buyer A
During the second trial, the court dismissed Buyer A’s request for compensation. Buyer A, who still has not received the artwork, told Crime Chief that they’re considering taking the case to the Supreme Court.
Read more about Mino’s work as an artist:
WINNER’s Mino Is A World Famous Painter, And These 8 Time-Lapses Of Him Working Can Mesmerize Anyone
Source: @JTBC_News and Insight
