The Cultural Heritage Administration says it will finalize a deal to purchase an old Korean embassy building in Washington on Friday.

South Korea is gaining official ownership of the building after 102 years since it was lost when the empire perished in 1910 in the wake of Japan's colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

The final contract will be drafted by Cultural Heritage Administrator Kim Chan on behalf of the Korean government and the building's current owner Timothy Jenkins.

After the deal is signed, Kim will hold a news conference and talk about the significance of the purchase. He's also expected to unveil special documents. One records the purchase of the embassy by Emperor Gojong in 1891 at a cost of 25-thousand dollars. The other is a copy of the transaction through which Korea forcibly handed over the embassy to Japan in June 1910 at a mere five dollars.

Also in Washington, a seminar will be held at the Korea Economic Institute with experts and Korean residents to discuss ways to use the repurchased embassy as a venue to introduce traditional Korean culture and the history of exchanges and cooperation between South Korea and the U.S.