Kim Whanki, 3-Ⅴ-71 #203, 1971 ©Seoul Auction
According to a report released on June 27 by the Korea Art Price Appraise Association, which compiled data from eight auction houses in Korea, Korean art auction sales in the first half of this year totaled about 91.7 billion KRW, up 13 percent from the previous year.
However, the Korean art auction market is still in a downturn, as it is about 63% of the level in 2022, when the art market was strong. In particular, the winning bid rate was 49.8%, down from last year’s 52.1%, and is the lowest in the past five years. The total number of works was also down by 3,806 to 11,045.
Kim Whanki’s artworks regained the top spot after 2019 with a total bid of approximately 6 billion KRW and a 64% winning rate. Kim Whanki’s 3-Ⅴ-71#203 was sold at the Seoul Auction in March for 5 billion KRW, making it the highest bidder. However, the total amount of the winning bid fell by about 8.5 billion KRW compared to 2019, and the winning rate was in the low 60s for the first time, indicating that the current Korean auction market is shrinking to the point where even artist who has led the domestic art market economy is underperforming.
