Lee U-fan's abstract paintings have become the subject of art forgery and he has gone to Seoul to examine some paintings that the National Forensic Service have identified to be counterfeits.
Lee told the media that he will be going back to the police in a few days as there are things that he has to check again. He examined the counterfeit paintings to determine if they are fake at the offices of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, KPop Herald reported.
Lee's attorney, Choi Soon-yong, said that his client will be taking the time to compare the paints and techniques used in the alleged counterfeit paintings.
"He has not been creating the same paintings, or using the same paints. The paints may, or may not be the ones he used before. He is being very careful in confirming whether the paintings are fakes," Choi stated.
Lee has been upset with how the investigation. Upon his arrival at the Incheon International Airport after a month stay in France, he said that the police did not consult him during the investigation and did what they wanted to do.
The police started investigating counterfeits of Lee's paintings last year when reports circulated that the paintings were being sold in the Korean art market. Several galleries suspected of circulating the counterfeit paintings were raided in December 2015. The counterfeit paintings are from Lee's major painting series called "From Point" and "From Line."
The alleged art forger has only been identified only as Hyun, 66. He was arrested in May and charged with creating the fake works. Initially, Hyun fled to Japan in an attempt to evade police officials. He reportedly earned over $1 million from the forged paintings, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
