SKorean conman arrested for opening fake museum
SEOUL (AFP) — A conman in South Korea opened a private museum stuffed with fakes and earned 530 million won (443,000 dollars) from people who thought they were ancient treasures, police said Wednesday after arresting him.
The 60-year-old, who was identified only by his family name Yu, bought cheap ceramics and other items from flea markets and passed them off as historic.
Some 153 of the 184 artefacts displayed at the museum in Gongju, about 160 kilometres (99 miles) south of Seoul, were fakes, local police told AFP.
The museum, established in August 2004, has attracted more than 130,000 visitors who paid about 530 million won in entrance fees, police said.
The fake collection includes purported "Koryo Dynasty celadon" artefacts dating back to the 10th-14th centuries.
The alleged conman pretended to be a herbal medicine doctor with a doctorate and the recipient of various citations from the president and prime minister, police said.
He is also suspected of earning 240 million won by prescribing fake cures to patients.
