Buddhist monks boycott broadcasting

By Bahk Eun-ji

Seven Buddhist monks have decided to boycott hosting shows on BBS, claiming the Buddhist broadcasting firm’s president made negative remarks against monks.

The monks, who belong to the Jogye Order, the nation’s largest Buddhist sect, issued a statement demanding the resignation of BBS President Lee Chae-won as a consequence of his alleged insults.

“This is the last time for the program today. Six other monks including me decided to refuse to host shows,” Ven. Sung-jeon, host of the “Happy Smile” radio program, declared on air.

Sung-jeon claimed in a joint statement that the BBS president used derogatory words, including describing monks as “beggars.”

The monks also raised questions about the qualifications of the president, claiming he had converted from Buddhism to Catholicism and converted again to Buddhism when he became a candidate for the broadcasting firm’s top post in 2011.

“As soon as we heard the president’s insulting comments, we made a public inquiry of the company, but the company just hunted down the monks who made the inquiry,” Sung-jeon said.

The monks said Lee is not a true Buddhist and therefore unqualified to run the broadcasting company for Buddhist followers.

BBS denied all the allegations against its president.

“Broadcasting can never be privatized and be used personally. The monks quit hosting the show without consultation with the company, so they should be held accountable. What they claimed about the president’s comments is not true, and we are trying to get the programs back to normal as soon as possible,” BBS said in a statement.