|
Buddhist temple dispute engulfs ruling party's floor leader
SEOUL, March 22 (Yonhap) -- A protracted internal management dispute within Korea's largest Buddhist order appears to have turned into a political row involving the floor leader of the ruling party.
The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, which has 2,500 affiliated temples nationwide and some 8.1 million registered lay members, has been embroiled in an internal feud since its executive director, Ven. Jaseung, decided on March 11 to put Seoul's Bongeun Temple, one of the order's most affluent temples, under his direct control.
Rev. Myoungjin, the chief monk of Bongeun Temple, located in the wealthy Gangnam district in southern Seoul, immediately rejected the order chief's decision, accusing Jaseung of failing to consult the registered members of the temple.
Bongeun, one of the Jogye Order's eight autonomously run temples, collects about 13.6 billion won (US$11.9 million) from its registered believers annually and pays 1.2 billion won to the order in special donations. Ven. Jaseung will fully control the temple's budget if the proposed change of its status is enforced as scheduled.
The dispute entered a new phase over the weekend after Rev. Myoungjin insisted that Rep. Ahn Sang-soo, floor leader of the Grand National Party (GNP), had pressured Ven. Jaseung to oust him and directly control Bongeun Temple's finances.
Rev. Myoungjin, known for his liberal-leaning stance on social and political issues, contended that Ahn urged Jaseung to take retaliatory actions against him, citing his "anti-government" stance, during their secret meeting at a Seoul hotel on Nov. 13.
The Bongeun Temple chief insisted that he indirectly heard Ahn's remarks from an official of the Jogye Order.
Ahn immediately refuted the criticism, saying that he had met Jaseung only once, but there was no pressure at all. The ranking GNP lawmaker also said that he didn't even know who the head of Bongeun Temple was.
"What Myoungjin insisted was outrageous. I have not been familiar with the Buddhist community's hot issues. I just discussed with Jaseung how to support his plan to expand the order's temple stay program," Ahn told reporters on Sunday.
On Monday, Myoungjin stepped up his attack on the GNP lawmaker, accusing him of lying about their relationship.
"Ahn told a lie when he said he didn't know me. We met and dined together a decade ago. If he really doesn't remember me, he must not be intelligent," said the Bongeun head in a radio interview.
Myoungjin took the helm of Bongeun Temple in 2006 and is credited with having since expanded the temple's membership to 200,000.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
|
Home
