Criticism of Religious Bias and Buddhist Distortion by Moon Jae-in Government... 5,000 Participants Expected
On the 20th, a resignation banner for Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was hung at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul. A citizen in front of the banner is holding a sign opposing the National Monk Conference. The Jogye Order has defined Jeong's derogatory remarks about cultural heritage admission fees and the government's support for the Catholic carol campaign as religious bias and distortion of Buddhism, and plans to hold the National Monk Conference at Jogyesa Temple on the 21st. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@
The Jogye Order is pushing ahead with the National Monk Assembly despite criticism within the Buddhist community. It is an extralegal decision-making measure. The order has convened such assemblies when facing serious crises. The current background is the Moon Jae-in administration's religious bias and distortion of Buddhism.
On the 21st at 2 p.m., the Jogye Order will hold the "National Monk Assembly to Eradicate Religious Bias and Distortion of Buddhism and to Protect the Autonomy of Korean Buddhism" at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The Chief Executive Monk, Wonhaeng, will introduce the purpose of the assembly in his opening remarks, and the Chairman of the Elders' Council, Saemin, will read the teachings of the Supreme Leader of the order, the Jogye Order Patriarch Jinje. They will share videos illustrating the current government's religious bias and distortion of Buddhism and read a letter to the public along with a resolution.
The order estimates about 5,000 monks will participate in the event. Current quarantine guidelines allow a maximum of 299 participants for religious events. The order has already announced thousands of participants and encouraged attendance. Criticism arises as the event is being forced ahead, effectively ignoring government quarantine guidelines amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
On the 20th, a banner calling for the expulsion of Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, was hung near Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The Jogye Order has defined Jeong's derogatory remarks about cultural heritage admission fees and the government's support for the Catholic carol campaign as religious bias and distortion of Buddhism, and plans to hold a nationwide monks' assembly at Jogyesa Temple on the 21st. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
Criticism is also raised within the Buddhist community. According to a survey conducted by the Justice and Peace Buddhist Solidarity, a Buddhist social organization, 601 out of 924 monks (64.4%) opposed the monk assembly. Buddhist civil society groups such as the Barun Buddhism Reformation Group, Justice and Peace Buddhist Solidarity, the Religious Freedom Policy Institute, and the Manhae Buddhist Youth Association collectively stated, "A gathering held ahead of the presidential election can be misunderstood as having political intentions." The Jogye Order responded, "We have completed internal legal reviews" and "will proceed in compliance with COVID-19 religious facility quarantine guidelines." They added, "Participants and essential staff are all fully vaccinated," and "considering the COVID-19 situation, there will be no street marches or similar activities."
They previously explained the reason for holding the assembly as follows: "Religious bias acts in the public sphere, which have deepened under the current government, have reached a level so serious that monks and Buddhists can no longer tolerate them." Representative examples include ▲ Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae of the Democratic Party belittling cultural heritage admission fees ▲ government support for Catholic carol campaigns ▲ the Catholic sanctification of Buddhist sites such as Cheonjinam ▲ Christian hymn performances by national and public choirs. They also expressed dissatisfaction with President Moon Jae-in meeting Catholic figures and attending Mass during overseas visits. Although Rep. Jeong, the Democratic Party leadership, and presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung have apologized, demands remain for Rep. Jeong's resignation or expulsion and a presidential apology. It is reported that Rep. Jeong, Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil, and Supreme Council member Kim Young-bae will attend the monk assembly and express apologies again.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
