By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Ahn Sang-soo, floor leader of the ruling Grand National Party, is facing increasing pressure to admit his alleged attempts to remove the head monk of a Seoul temple and attempts to meddle in the internal affairs of Korea's largest Buddhist sect.
"The revelation Rev. Myeongjin made in his sermon last Sunday was absolutely true," Kim Young-kook, former Jogye Order official, told reporters during a press conference, Tuesday.
"I organized Rev. Jaseung's luncheon with Ahn on Nov. 13 last year and I was sitting next to them throughout the meeting".
The scandal surrounding Ahn erupted after Rev. Myeongjin of Bongeun Temple in southern Seoul, which is under the wing of the Jogye Buddhist Order, made the surprising statement in his sermon last Sunday that during the November luncheon, the conservative legislator described him as "leftist" and asked Rev. Jaseung, an executive chief of the Jogye Order, to replace him.
The monk quoted Ahn as saying, "Should a monk so critical of the government be allowed to lead a temple in affluent southern Seoul?"
Kim said he informed Rev. Myeongjin of these controversial remarks over phone.
"I thought Ahn's description of the monk as a person with an ideological bias was inappropriate," said Kim.
"I don't think of it was just a joke or slip of tongue. Ahn should openly respond to this controversy".
The four-term lawmaker has denied the allegation, saying he does not even know who the head monk is. But he has refused to elaborate.
"His denial cannot hide the truth," Kim stressed.
Ahn and the governing party did not immediately react to Kim's attack. The executive chief of the order also remains tight-lipped.
But opposition parties lashed out at the ruling party leader, calling the scandal "the tip of the iceberg".
Rep. Choi Moon-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party said in a radio interview, "It's a widespread rumor that two liberal-minded senior monks will soon lose their posts. One of the two is Rev. Myeongjin".
Choi added this case is not isolated, saying, "As far as I know, the conservative party and an intelligence agency have pressured executives of the order to replace liberal monks".
This is the latest in a series of disputes between Korean Buddhism and aides of President Lee Myung-bak.
The bad blood between the two sides has continued since the inauguration of President Lee, a devout Christian.
For example, the government earned the ire of Buddhists by dropping all their temples and shrines from the new national geographical information register.
Some Buddhists also regard it as no coincidence that up to 40 percent of the nation's polling booths have been set up in churches over past few years. Adding fuel to fire, the police even stopped and searched the car of the executive chief of the Jogye Order in relation to the months-long candlelit protest against U.S. beef imports in 2008.
The Korea Times
