The government is planning to set up a special task force to recover stolen Korean cultural artifacts and relics from abroad. The move follows Japan's return of the "Uigwe," a collection of royal protocols from the Chosun Dynasty.

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said Monday that a systemized mechanism is needed in order to reclaim long-lost artifacts, and pledged to work with related departments to get an accurate grasp of the status of missing cultural assets.