South Korea Returns Buddha Statue from Kannonji Temple to Japanese Delegation; Statue to Be Lent to South Korean Temple Until May

By Nobuhiko Yamada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

15:08 JST, January 24, 2025

DAEJEON, South Korea — A Buddha statue stolen in 2012 from Kannonji temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, and brought to South Korea was returned to the custody of a delegation from the temple on Friday.

The delegation visited a national facility in Daejeon, South Korea, which was keeping the statue, to receive it 13 years after it was stolen. The statue will be temporarily lent to Buseoksa Temple, a South Korean temple that had claimed ownership of the statue, where a service will be held before its planned return to Japan in May.

The statue, Kanzeon Bosatsu Zazo (seated Bodhisattva statue), is a designated cultural asset of Nagasaki Prefecture. At the Daejeon facility, the statue was examined by Sekko Tanaka, 78, a former chief priest of Kannonji temple, as well as by officials from the Foreign Ministry and the Cultural Affairs Agency. Then, the delegation went through the proceedings of the statue’s handover. A ceremony to lend the statue to Buseoksa Temple was held as well.

“This day has arrived thanks to support from many people. I will work for the lasting relationship between Japan and South Korea to the best of my ability,” Tanaka said.

The statue was stolen by a group of South Korean thieves in 2012. The group was arrested by South Korean police, which confiscated the statue. However, Buseoksa Temple claimed that the statue had been plundered by Japanese pirates in the 14th century and filed a lawsuit against the South Korean government, which was then keeping the statue. In 2023, South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that the statue belonged to Kannonji.