Is it allowable to take Korean cultural properties abroad or bring those acquired overseas into the country?

• Pursuant to Articles 21 and 76 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, no cultural properties shall be carried out of the country. However, in cases where they are taken abroad for the purpose of international cultural exchange, such as overseas exhibitions, the cultural properties are allowed to leave the country with permission obtained from the Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration.
  
• Any person who wants to take cultural properties abroad for the purpose of exhibitions should apply for a permit from the Cultural Heritage Administration no less than one month before the scheduled date. The application for moving State-designated cultural properties out of the country will be brought to the President for his approval after review by the Cultural Heritage Committee’s Subcommittee on Movable Cultural Heritage and State Council, and the Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration will grant final permission to the applicant. As for City/Do-designated cultural properties, permission from the Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration will be granted after careful consideration.
  
• An extension of no more than two years is allowed for the cultural properties authorized to be taken abroad, but only if unavoidable circumstances exist. But the properties should be brought back into the country before the end of the period allotted for the item to be taken abroad. Any person who fails to comply with this provision shall be punished pursuant to Article 80 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act.
  
• Korean cultural heritage in overseas museums or even foreign cultural properties, once they have been confirmed to be legally taken out of the foreign country concerned, are allowed to be brought into Korea. When such properties are brought in, there is no obligation to report them to the Cultural Heritage Administration. They have only to be declared at customs according to the customs clearance procedure.