34th day: Senior Buddhist monk on life-threatening hunger strike to fight corruption
Ven. Seoljo, 88, in Jogye temple in central Seoul, July 18. He has been on a hunger strike since June 20. / YonhapBy 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 “pa
Jul 22, 2018
