Song Wol Ju Withdraws His Candidacy
Published: 04 Jan. 2003, 17:19
In a press conference he said, 'In order to safeguard the dignity of the whole Buddhist society in Korea, I decided not to run for a third term as administrative chief, even though my candidacy for a 3rd term was both legal and appropriate.'
He added, 'It was beyond my ability to inform Buddhists and the general public everything that was involved in my 3rd term candidacy, but now please make every effort to stabilize and heal Buddhist society so as to allow Buddhism to carry out its original duty and role.'
The Chogye Order, Korea's largest Buddhist order, has been in a leadership battle between a faction loyal to Song and another faction which stridently opposes him.
Earlier today, the two rival factions clashed again as 120 monks tried to storm into Chogye Temple in downtown Seoul which is now occupied by the opposition faction.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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