Korea sets appraisal and authenticity certificate forms for art market

South Korea's culture ministry said Thursday it has formally established the appraisal reports and authenticity certificates that art dealers must issue under the country's art promotion law, setting out two appraisal formats and three documents that can stand in for a certificate.

The two notices, issued as of Oct. 29, split art appraisals into an authenticity report, in which a registered appraiser gives a professional opinion on whether a work is genuine, and a price report, which puts the artistic, cultural and historical significance of a piece into economic figures.

Only appraisers registered under Article 18 of the Art Promotion Act may issue the reports. Anyone else faces a fine of up to 5 million won ($3,742), and a registered appraiser who uses a form other than the prescribed one can be shut down. Those penalties will not bite immediately: the registration regime for art-related businesses will be in an advisory period until July 25, 2027, during which no fines or administrative measures will be imposed.

For buyers, the authenticity certificate is the more visible change. Consumers can ask an artist or an art business to issue a certificate confirming a work is genuine and that the details recorded about it are accurate. If the artist or business cannot issue one, it must tell the buyer before the sale.

Three documents can replace the certificate: an appraisal report, a distribution record kept by an art business, and any document issued by an art business that contains all the certificate's required particulars, with the exception of the artist's signature. A substitute must be accompanied by a document showing why a certificate could not be issued.

The ministry plans to distribute working guidelines for completing the reports and certificates by the end of the year.

"These notices protect art consumers and lay the groundwork for the Korean art market to grow by making the market more transparent," said Chung Hyang-mi, head of the ministry's culture and arts policy office. She said the ministry would keep investing in standardising and systematising art appraisal alongside consumer protection.