Activists to Appeal French Ruling Over Return of Historical Documents

Korean activist group Cultural Action has decided to appeal a French court's dismissal of its lawsuit for the return to Korea of the Oegyujanggak archive of Chosun-Dynasty documents. The group sued the French government in the Paris Administrative Court in 2007, but the court threw out the suit late last year.

Oegyujanggak was a royal archive built on Ganghwa Island in 1781, from where the documents were looted by French troops during a brief and disastrous punitive campaign in 1866.

In a press conference in front of the French Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday, Cultural Action said it would file an appeal with the French court this week.

The group accused the court of making a "historically and logically irrational" decision. It hopes to collect estimated legal expenses of 100,000 euros from a donations drive where 10,000 citizens donate W10,000 (US$1=W1,164) each. The group also claims it will bring a lawsuit in Korea to haul the French ambassador in Seoul before a Korean court.