Venerable Myeongjin says a Cheong Wa Dae official pressured Kim Yeong-guk to stay silent

Venerable Myeongjin, administrative leader of Seoul’s Bongeun Temple, said Sunday that improper talks took place on the day before Jogye Order external affairs official Kim Yeong-guk held a press conference confirming GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-soo’s comment about the impropriety of keeping a “leftist <##IMAGE##> monk critical of the current administration as the leader of an affluent temple in Gangnam.” Venerable Myeongjin said that Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) spokesman Lee Dong-kwan called Kim Yeong-guk to both placate and threaten him directly. Lee is flatly denying this statement, however, and is saying that he will respond with legal action as the debate over Cheong Wa Dae involvement in Buddhist administrative affairs continues to grow.

Myeongjin said during his Sunday morning service that he heard from Kim that on the night before his press conference (held March 22), he met with a figure from a body directly under the president. When this figure saw Kim might be wavering, he called Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee, who urged Kim not to hold the press conference, saying he would pardon Kim for infractions of the election law. When Kim said he could not do that, Lee cursed at him.


In addition, Myeongjin also said he never asked Kim to confirm Ahn’s comments through a press conference, and that if it were proven that Ahn never made such statements, he would leave the Bongeun Temple immediately, since it would mean that he lied. It is still unknown if there was a reason for the Cheong Wa Dae to attempt stop Kim’s press conference through a direct phone call. Hwang Chan-ik, a director at Bongeun Temple, also said he heard from Kim that he had received both placating and threatening statements through a direct phone call from Lee.


The Hankyoreh made several attempts to contact Kim, but received no response. Kim reported during a press conference that during a meeting with Ahn and Jogye Order administrative head Venerable Jaseung on March 23, he heard Ahn say that a leftist monk critical of the current administration should not be left in place at Bongeun Temple, and that he conveyed these comments to Myeongjin.



In response to Myeongjin‘s comments, Lee Dong-kwan’s said he never directly called Kim, and that since such claims are groundless, he is planning to respond with legal action. Lee’s supporters also stated that Lee and Kim do not know each other and that they have never talked over the phone. “Mr. B,” the figure from a body directly under the president who met with Kim, said he briefly talked with Lee after meeting Kim, but Lee never directly called Kim. He said he is the one who first brought up the topic of a pardon for election law violations, asking Kim what he would do if he turned his back on the government.