Exclusive "Gallery K" writers also said, "I can't get paid...Tens of billions of dollars"

[Anchor]
It was found that ordinary investors were not the only victims of Gallery K, an "art tech" company whose CEO fled the country due to allegations of fraud.

It has been confirmed that the artists who have been selling paintings through Gallery K have not received the payment properly, and the damage is estimated to be around 30 billion won.

Some writers have sued the company's representatives for fraud.

Reporter Yang Dong-hoon reports.

[Reporter]
Sung Hee-seung, a writer who runs a studio in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has sold more than 70 paintings through Gallery K since 2019.

We decided to receive monthly payments for the sale of our works, but since last fall, it has been rare, but the payment has been cut off since July.

[Sung Hee-seung / Artist: I thought the gallery must be having a hard time since the second half of last year. I still have about 300 million won....]

Gallery K paid the artist 20-30% of the profits in installments over 36 months when the work was sold.

Usually, it was different from dividing sales revenue by 5 to 5 with the artist and paying at once, but they steadily purchased the work and signed a contract.Like the artist

, it is estimated that more than 240 artists have not received the full payment after selling paintings at Gallery K, and the amount of damage is more than 30 billion won.

They point out that there was also a problem with the sale of goods and goods using the work.

It has been confirmed that Gallery K has also made and sold products such as cushions and watches using the artists' paintings.

The contract says that a portion of the net proceeds is paid every month, but the authors say they have never been notified of what products and how much they have sold, nor have they received the proceeds as contracted.

However, it is not easy for artists to actively complain about damage to their reputation.

[Sung Hee-seung / Artist: He's a painter who is sold in a strange gallery with problems, he shouldn't be branded as disgraceful like this....]

Some artists have filed a complaint with the police against Gallery K CEO Kim and others, who fled abroad, on charges of fraud.

I'm YTN Yang Donghoon.