The Supreme Court of South Korea ruled on Thursday that a Buddhist statue currently in government custody must be returned to a Japanese temple, ending a decade-old dispute between temples in both countries.
South Korean thieves stole the 20-inch gilded bronze statue in 2012 from a Buddhist temple on Tsushima, a Japanese island halfway between the two countries.
The thieves were caught in South Korea while trying to sell the statue, which has been designated an important cultural asset in Japan.
But Buseoksa, a Buddhist temple in western Korea, claimed the artifact, saying it was made there in the 14th century.
The Japanese temple, Kannonji, and Tokyo were not part of the lawsuit but have demanded the statue’s return.
Persons:
Kannonji
Organizations:
South
Locations:
South Korea, South, Tsushima, Japan, Korea, Buseoksa, Tokyo