SEOUL: A South Korean court rejected a Buddhist temple's claim to a statue that Japanese pirates looted in the 14th century, clearing the way for Japan to press for its return.
The 20-inch gilt bronze statue of a Buddhist Bodhisattva was stolen from a Japanese temple in 2012 by South Korean thieves who tried to sell it after returning home.
The Buseoksa TempleBuseoksa Temple in South Korea filed a legal case in 2016 claiming the ownership of the statue, which has been in the custody of the government, saying Japanese pirates have plundered it in the 14th century.
A South Korean high court overturned a decision in favor of the temple in 2017 and rejected its claim to the statue, saying the government, the defendant in the case, now had to return it in the proper way.
The court said in a statement that the defendants need to deal with the issue of returning the statue in consideration of international law, norms and conventions regarding the protection and return of cultural properties.
It said that even if the Buseoksa temple had owned the statue in the early 1300 s, there was a lack of evidence to determine whether the temple had maintained its identity and continuity over the years.