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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 \u200bin both countries.<\/p>\n
South Korean thieves stole the 20-inch gilded bronze statue<\/a> in 2012 from a Buddhist temple on Tsushima, a Japanese island halfway between the two countries. The incident \u200badded yet another dispute to the contentious relations<\/a> between the two countries, which have \u200blong bickered o\u200bver historical grievances<\/a>.<\/p>\n The thieves were caught in South Korea while trying to sell the statue, which has been designated an important cultural asset in Japan. \u200bBut Buseoksa<\/a>, a Buddhist temple in western Korea, claimed the artifact, saying it was made there in the 14th century. The temple won a court injunction in 2013 preventing its return to Japan.<\/p>\n A legal battle ensued between Buseoksa and the South Korean government. The Japanese temple, Kannonji, and Tokyo were not part of the lawsuit but have demanded the statue\u2019s return. There was no evidence that the artifact had been brought to Japan illicitly, Kannonji said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n