Paintings by Lee Joong-sup, Park Soo-keun ¡®Forgeries¡¯

Top photo shows the original painting of ¡°Hinso (White Bull)¡± by Lee Joong-sup, while a copy of the painting that was judged as a forgery Friday is seen below.

A body of experts made up of 16 professors, artists and gallery owners declared the pieces examined as forged work, according to the Seoul District Public Prosecutor¡¯s Office.

Of the total 2,740 paintings submitted to the prosecution, 39 by Lee and 19 by Park were sent to three state-run institutions where they were looked over by the experts.

Following the experts¡¯ findings, the prosecutor's office acquitted the Korean Art Appraisal Association on the charges of libel, brought by the family members of the late Lee after the association said a collection in their possession were fake in late March.

The same decision was made on the libel charges lodged against the late Park Soo-keun's eldest son, Park Song-nam, by Kim Yong-su. Park accused Kim, the honorary chairman of the Korean Old Books Research Association, of trying to pass off imitations of his father¡¯s works as real.

Kim, who claims to possess 200 works of the painter, is protesting the method in which the experts reached their conclusions, said Shin Bong-chul, Kim's lawyer. Shin said that his client intends to have experts abroad reappraise the pieces.

However, chief public prosecutor Kim Hun-jung said that this was not the time or place for the works¡¯ authenticity to be discussed.

``This is a matter of settling a criminal charge case based on the given facts,¡¯¡¯ he said.

The authenticity of the paintings of Lee (1916-1956), one of the country's most celebrated modernist painters, has been raised over several occasions in recent years due to the fact that the short-lived artist left behind a limited number of pieces.

In 2002, the Korean Galleries' Association found that more than eight of the 10 works claimed to have been done by artist were forgeries.

Known by many for his technique of making the paper on which he painted resemble granite, Park (1914-1965) drew the lives of commoners.

Although more than four decades have passed since his death at the age of 51, Park remains popular in the local art circle. The painting ``On the road'' was auctioned off at 520 million won (about $500,000) in January, setting a record as the artist's most expensive work sold in Korea.