Religious Bias
Buddhists Escalating Protest Against Lee Government
President Lee Myung-bak once infuriated not only Buddhists but also many non-religious people when he served as Seoul mayor. He said he would consecrate the capital to God, comments which touched off a controversy over his religious neutrality. This episode has resurfaced since Lee took the helm of the Cheong Wa Dae in late February. A devout Christian, the President is an elder at Somang Presbyterian Church in southern Seoul.
Even before his inauguration, Lee invited criticism from the Buddhist sector by appointing fellow churchgoer and then president of Sookmyung Women's University, Lee Kyung-sook, as chief of his presidential transition team. President Lee was also lambasted for nominating churchgoers for Cabinet and other key government posts.
His appointees also angered Buddhists by making comments considered biased. Former presidential secretary Choo Bu-ghil had to resign over a contentious speech in a Christian prayer meeting, in which he called anti-U.S. beef candlelight protesters ``satanic.'' Seven protest organizers are hiding in the compound of Jogye Temple in downtown Seoul, the center of Korean Buddhism, to avoid arrest.
President Lee's first health minister, Kim Soung-yee, once blamed the national social welfare program for failing due to a lack of religious faith in the past. National Police Agency Commissioner General Eo Cheong-soo promoted a Christian event for police, prompting a Buddhist backlash. Former Pohang Mayor Chung Jang-sik, who promised to set aside one percent of the port city's budget to build a ``Christian city,'' was named chief of the Central Officials' Training Institute.
The conflict between Buddhists and the Lee administration has come to a head over the exclusion of Buddhist temple locations from GPS navigational data released in June. Temples were also omitted from maps showing Cheonggye Stream, which was restored while Lee served as Seoul mayor.
Buddhists' fury deepened late last month when police searched a car of the Ven. Jigwan, the chief executive of the country's biggest Buddhist order Jogye. Police said they were searching for wanted protesters hiding in Jogye Temple. In the face of mounting Buddhist anger over the alleged discrimination against their religion, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yu In-chon apologized to the nation Tuesday but failed to appease Buddhists.
On Wednesday, about 200,000 Buddhist monks and believers held a mass rally, demanding an official apology from President Lee and dismissal of the police chief. They also urged comprehensive measures to tackle discrimination against the Buddhist community. The protest could turn into an anti-government campaign reminiscent of the candlelit vigils against U.S. beef imports, which posed a grave threat to President Lee's leadership.
South Korea is a secular country advocating freedom of religion. The Constitution guarantees the separation of religion and politics. President Lee and his government, however, have given the impression that they favor Christians and Christianity while trying to marginalize Buddhism and its followers. The Buddhist Newspaper, published by the Jogye Order, said in March that 16 of the 41 presidential secretaries were Christian, while only two were Buddhist.
Against this backdrop, the Lee administration deserves criticism for religious bias. President Lee holds the key to resolving this religious row. He should be more careful in maintaining religious neutrality. His administration and the governing Grand National Party must pay heed to calls by Buddhist leaders and the main opposition Democratic Party to pass bills banning religious discrimination. We hope the President will humbly keep in mind the criticism leveled against him by Buddhists and embrace the country's religious diversity to promote national harmony and reconciliation.