ID :
98938
Sat, 01/09/2010 - 07:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/98938
The shortlink copeid
Seoul still hopeful over return of royal texts looted by France
(ATTN: RECASTS 2nd para to clarify 30 of 297 royal texts are only copies left in the
world and correct former French president's name; UPDATES with minor changes)
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- There remains a strong possibility South Korea will
reach agreement with Paris over the return of royal texts looted by France,
despite a recent French court ruling that laid legal claim to the papers, an
official said Friday.
French troops illegally took 297 royal texts, 30 of which are now the only
remaining copies in the world, from an imperial library of the Joseon Dynasty
(1392-1910) in Ganghwa island, some 60 kilometers west of Seoul, during a 1866
invasion. The books continue to remain at France's National Library while one was
returned to South Korea in 1993 by then visiting French President Francois
Mitterand on an indefinite lease.
France's administrative court on Dec. 24 ruled the books, although obtained
illegally, now lawfully belong to France's national library.
The official said negotiations have been and are still underway between the
countries' governments for a de facto return of the royal texts.
"We have actively raised this issue with the French government under this (Lee
Myung-bak) government and we believe it will be resolved one way or another,
though it may take some time," the official told reporters, asking not to be
identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
One way to resolve the decades-old-dispute is through a South Korean proposal,
first filed with France in 2007 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, to have
the royal texts on lease for an indefinite term in exchange for other Korean
relics to be put on display in French museums.
"Once the texts are returned on an indefinite term of lease, we will be able to
study them, display them and do whatever we would like to do with them as long as
we do not damage them," the official said, noting their return on a lease will in
fact be their permanent restoration.
The only last-minute glitch preventing the Seoul government from having serious
discussions with its French counterpart on the issue is that it has yet to fully
discuss its own proposed solution under the incumbent government.
"It will not be appropriate to explain every detail of our plans for negotiation
because the negotiation is still under way. What has changed under this
administration (of South Korea) is that the French side, too, understands the
issue must not stand in the way of our two countries improving their ties," the
official said, adding that France's top leaders also shared the view.
"The French president is scheduled to visit South Korea for the G-20 summit and
we also expect the leaders of the two countries to meet on sidelines of various
other occasions, such as the G-8 summit," he said.
The rejection by France's administration court to return the royal texts followed
a complaint from a South Korean civic organization filed in 2008.
The group has already expressed its intention to appeal.
Under a UNESCO convention signed in 1970, cultural properties obtained through
illegal means since the year are subject to restoration but those, including
royal texts, looted prior to that year can lawfully be possessed and even
registered as national properties of their holders.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
world and correct former French president's name; UPDATES with minor changes)
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- There remains a strong possibility South Korea will
reach agreement with Paris over the return of royal texts looted by France,
despite a recent French court ruling that laid legal claim to the papers, an
official said Friday.
French troops illegally took 297 royal texts, 30 of which are now the only
remaining copies in the world, from an imperial library of the Joseon Dynasty
(1392-1910) in Ganghwa island, some 60 kilometers west of Seoul, during a 1866
invasion. The books continue to remain at France's National Library while one was
returned to South Korea in 1993 by then visiting French President Francois
Mitterand on an indefinite lease.
France's administrative court on Dec. 24 ruled the books, although obtained
illegally, now lawfully belong to France's national library.
The official said negotiations have been and are still underway between the
countries' governments for a de facto return of the royal texts.
"We have actively raised this issue with the French government under this (Lee
Myung-bak) government and we believe it will be resolved one way or another,
though it may take some time," the official told reporters, asking not to be
identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
One way to resolve the decades-old-dispute is through a South Korean proposal,
first filed with France in 2007 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, to have
the royal texts on lease for an indefinite term in exchange for other Korean
relics to be put on display in French museums.
"Once the texts are returned on an indefinite term of lease, we will be able to
study them, display them and do whatever we would like to do with them as long as
we do not damage them," the official said, noting their return on a lease will in
fact be their permanent restoration.
The only last-minute glitch preventing the Seoul government from having serious
discussions with its French counterpart on the issue is that it has yet to fully
discuss its own proposed solution under the incumbent government.
"It will not be appropriate to explain every detail of our plans for negotiation
because the negotiation is still under way. What has changed under this
administration (of South Korea) is that the French side, too, understands the
issue must not stand in the way of our two countries improving their ties," the
official said, adding that France's top leaders also shared the view.
"The French president is scheduled to visit South Korea for the G-20 summit and
we also expect the leaders of the two countries to meet on sidelines of various
other occasions, such as the G-8 summit," he said.
The rejection by France's administration court to return the royal texts followed
a complaint from a South Korean civic organization filed in 2008.
The group has already expressed its intention to appeal.
Under a UNESCO convention signed in 1970, cultural properties obtained through
illegal means since the year are subject to restoration but those, including
royal texts, looted prior to that year can lawfully be possessed and even
registered as national properties of their holders.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
