South Korea top court affirms Japan temple owner of stolen Buddha statue

South Korea's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a South Korean temple, affirming a high court ruling that a Japanese temple is the rightful owner of a 14th-century Buddha statue stolen from the temple on an island in southwestern Japan in 2012.The statue, absconded by South Korean thieves, has been recovered by local authorities. The South Korean temple asserted that the statue was looted from it by Japanese pirates centuries ago and sought its handover from the South Korean government.The top court's ruling comes at a time when Japan-South Korea relations have been improving …READ FULL ARTICLE