미국내 소재 우리 문화재의 환수를 위한 법적 고찰 -미국 연방도품법을 중심으로- = A Study on the Return of Korean Cultural Objects Located in America -Focused on the National Stolen Property Act-

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

A Study on the Return of Korean Cultural Objects Located in the U.S.A.-with focus on the National Stolen Property Act- As Korea went through the social and political upheaval era such as the Japanese colonial rule period, American Military Government period in Korea, Korean War, a lot of the Korean cultural properties was either stolen or looted in Korea and illegally exported into America. The number of the Korean cultural properties identified and located in America as of 2011 is 37,972, and their possessors are located in 124 places in America. Some of them were the gifts given from the Korean government to the American counterpart, or were purchased by the wealthy persons in America, and others stolen or looted from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. This Article aims at analyzing the National Stolen Property Act (hereinafter NSPA) in America and the relevant Korean laws in order for the Korean government to seek for the return of the Korean cultural objects located in America, which had been stolen in Korea from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. The foreign cultural objects located in America, in general, will be returned to the state of origin in accordance with the following process. In other words, they will be transferred to the originating country through the diplomatic channel after they are seized and forfeited by virtue of the NSPA. At the outset, the Article will explore the contents of the NSPA, the relationship between the NSPA and the foreign found-in-the-ground laws, and the relationship between the NSPA and the Cultural Property Implementation Act in America. Afterwards, as far as the NSPA-related cases in America are concerned, the Article will explain and analyze US law cases such as United States v. Hollinshead, United States v. McClain, United States v. An Antique Platter of Gold, The Republic of Turkey v. OKS Partners, and the Government of Peru v. Johnson. Next, in the Conclusion, I will stress that it is very pivotal for the Korean government to prove the national ownership of the Korean cultural objects, stolen in Korea from the late 1940s to the early 1950s and currently located in America by taking evidence or analyzing the Korean law effective in the late 1940s and the early 1950s. In this regard, I will also make it clear that, if so, the Korean government can bring a lawsuit against the American possessor of the Korean cultural objects stolen from the late 1940s to the early 1950s or that it can urge the American government to prosecute the American possessors of the stolen Korean cultural properties.