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Jogye Order official says GNP floor leader involved in internal dispute
By Kim Boram
SEOUL, March 23 (Yonhap) -- An official with South Korea's largest Buddhist sect claimed Tuesday that he heard a ruling party leader criticizing a senior monk in Seoul for his political views during a meeting with the sect's chief, amid allegations the remarks prompted the sect to have him removed from his post.
The Jogye Order has been embroiled in an internal feud since its head decided early this month to put Bongeun Temple in southern Seoul under his office's direct control. The measure, which has yet to take effect, would remove the temple's current head monk from his post.
The head monk, Rev. Myoungjin, has since claimed that the decision to remove him was made because the ruling Grand National Party's floor leader, Rep. Ahn Sang-soo, pressured the sect's chief to oust him for his "anti-government" stance during their meeting in November.
Both the lawmaker and the sect's chief have rejected the allegations.
Rev. Myoungjin, known for his liberal-leaning stance on social and political issues, claimed that he was told what the lawmaker said about him during the November meeting from a Joggye Order official who organized and attended the meeting.
On Tuesday, the official, Kim Young-kook, told a press conference that what he told Rev. Myoungjin is true.
"I told Myoungjin what I heard. I thought he had to know what a senior ruling party official had said about his temple," Kim said.
Ahn has refuted Myoungjin's allegations, saying there was no pressure whatsoever, and that he didn't even know who the head of Bongeun Temple was. Myoungjin accused him of lying about their relationship.
The Joggye Order has 2,500 affiliated temples nationwide and some 8.1 million registered lay members.
Bongeun Temple is one of the order's most affluent temples and collects about 13.6 billion won (US$11.9 million) from registered adherents annually, paying 1.2 billion won to the order in special donations. The temple is among the order's eight autonomously run temples.
The order's chief will take full control of the temple's budget if the proposed change of its status is enforced.
brk@yna.co.kr
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