 |
| Ven. Seoljo, 88, in Jogye temple in central Seoul, July 18. He has been on a hunger strike since June 20. / Yonhap |
By Park Si-soo
A senior South Korean Buddhist monk has been on a hunger strike for more than a month, calling for the ousting of the "corrupt" chief of the nation's largest Buddhist sect Jogye and for the reform of the sect.
Ven. Seoljo, 88, started the hunger protest in the compound of the Jogye temple in central Seoul on June 20. Sunday marked the 34th day of his protest.
His health is reportedly satisfactory, but his supporters want him to end the protest because of his "declining vigor." Many of the monk's followers have been staging candlelit vigils with him every Thursday and Friday.
Jogye temple and its scandal-hit chief, Ven. Seoljeong, remain calm.
Jogye has fallen into an internal dispute since October with allegations that Ven. Seoljeong, who was then running for Jogye sect's top job, had fabricated his academic background and even had a "hidden" daughter.
After being elected as Jogye chief, Ven. Seoljeong admitted a "partial" fabrication of his academic background and apologized. He was in trouble again in May after a close aide was embroiled in a sexual scandal, which reignited campaigns against Ven. Seoljeong.
Also in May, a Buddhist activist and a former journalist accused the Jogye chief of having transferred about 194 million won since 2009 to two people suspected of being his secret daughter and her mother.
Last week, Lee Yong-sun, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, talked with Ven. Seoljo at the protest site. Lee also talked with the scandal-hit Jogye chief. During the talks, the chief monk asked the government to stay out of the dispute.
The presidential secretary reportedly said the government had "no intention of intervening" in the case," highlighting the importance of keeping politics separate from religion.
![Second Trump impeachment [PHOTOS]](http://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/Y2021011403933_f56c3d83257d7.jpg/dims/resize/268/optimize)
