U.S. President Barack Obama will return a stolen ancient royal seal to President Park Geun-hye during her visit to the U.S. in October, a local daily reported, Monday.
A Park administration official said the U.S. and Korean governments have agreed to return the cultural asset as a present during Park’s second visit to Washington, D.C.
The turtle-shaped golden seal, which belonged to Queen Munjeong (1502-1565), was allegedly stolen by a U.S. soldier during the Korean War from the Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul and illegally taken to America.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) bought the royal treasure at an auction in 2000 and it has been displayed there since.
A civic group led by Ven. Hyemun has been campaigning to retrieve the seal since 2009.
The LACMA agreed in July 2013 to return the national treasure to Korea, but the move was blocked by the U.S. government while an investigation was done into whether it was illegally smuggled.