• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.24-43
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• 2015

Since 2011, when Oegyujanggak Uigwe(Records of the State Rites of the Joseon Dynasty) were returned from France, which were looted in 1866 by the French Navy, national attention to our cultural properties abroad was explosively increased and public pressure has been mounting that those cultural properties should be returned in Korea. According to the statistics of "Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation" Korean cultural Properties, which exist in foreign countries, amounts 160,342 in total 20 countries. Among them about half of them are estimated to be illegally exported cultural property, these are to be restituted. However, in reality it is not so easy to restitute illegally exported cultural properties. For this, it needs to be established a long-term and systematic plan for return of cultural properties from other countries. This paper starts from such a critical mind and tries to find legal policy measures for the return of illegally exported cultural properties. To this end, the author first describes motive and aim of this research in chapter I. and overviews basic understanding and current situation of export of cultural property as well as means and methods of return of cultural property in chapter II. and then deals with international and national norms that are involved in the dispute concerned return of cultural properties in chapter III. Based on this research, in chapter IV., which can be considered as a key part of this paper, the author proposed nine legal policy measures for restitution of cultural properties from foreign countries. That is, actual condition survey of cultural properties in foreign countries, unified management and implement of export ID on cultural properties, fund-raising for the diversification of means of return of cultural properties. local utilization of cultural properties, joining in the multilateral conventions and expansion of the bilateral agreements, restitution and cooperation through international organizations, restitution through lawsuit and arbitration, training experts on restitution of cultural property and networking with foreign experts. Finally, the author summarized his opinion in chapter V. which comprehended researching the above.