The Supreme Court has ruled that Japan is the owner of a 14th century Buddhist statue that South Korean thieves stole from Japan and brought to South Korea in 2012. 

The top court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling which said Japan has ownership over the Geumdong Gwaneum Bosal statue of the Goryeo Dynasty, citing that the 20-year acquisitive prescription for the statue had expired. 

With such ruling, the court rejected a suit filed by the Buseoksa Temple in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province which had sought the handover of the statue, claiming it is the rightful owner based on an artifact found inside the statue which stated that the figure was made at around 1330 for a temple in Seosan. 

The Geumdong Gwaneum Bosal statue, measuring 50-and-a-half centimeters high and weighing nearly 39 kilograms, was stolen from the Kannonji Temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, in October of 2012 by South Korean thieves and brought to South Korea. 

In Seoul, the foreign ministry said it respects the court’s decision, adding that understands that related agencies will decide on the transfer procedures in line with related laws. 

Meanwhile, Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hideki Murai called on Seoul to make efforts for the swift return of the statue to Kannonji Temple, adding that Tokyo will take appropriate steps by communicating with related officials. 

The chief priest of the Kannonji Temple, Tanaka Setsuryu, said the court ruling was reasonable.