President Lee Jae-myung on the 22nd expressed condolences over the passing of Venerable Myeongjin, former chief monk of Bongeunsa, saying, "I share with all the people the sorrow of sending off a great elder of Buddhism in the Republic of Korea."
On Facebook that day, the president posted an entry titled "Condolences on the passing of Venerable Myeongjin" and said, "I cannot contain my shock and regret at the sudden news of his passing."
The president also recalled a luncheon with Venerable Myeongjin in July last year. At the time, Venerable Myeongjin asked the president to "open the way so that even workers suffering amid the wealth gap can live equally, and for peace between the two Koreas."
The president said, "Looking back, his words fully held the path of practice the monk had walked throughout his life and his heart toward the world." He went on to say that Venerable Myeongjin, under the conviction that "the field is the very place of practice," visited sites across society and raised his voice for a better world and for peace. The president said, "I will long remember the monk's life and will, lived with a heart of compassion toward equality, peace, and all sentient beings," adding, "I sincerely pray for Venerable Myeongjin's rebirth in Paradise."
On the morning of the same day, Venerable Myeongjin was found floating in the water near Haye Port in Haye-dong, Seogwipo, Jeju, and was rescued but passed away at the hospital. He was 76 by age and had 52 years in the monastic order. The Korea Coast Guard is investigating the exact circumstances, considering the possibility that he had an accident while practicing freediving, based on the fact that he was wearing gear such as a suit and fins when he was rescued.
Born in 1950 in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, Venerable Myeongjin entered the monastic life at Baengnyeonam, Haein Temple, in 1969. He led reform of the Jogye Order in 1994, served as a member of the 11th Jogye Order Central Council and as its vice chair, and was chief monk of Bongeunsa in Gangnam District, Seoul, from 2006 to 2010.
As chief monk of Bongeunsa, Venerable Myeongjin publicly criticized the operation of the order and the administration of Lee Myung-bak at the time. In 2017, he was expelled from the Jogye Order, but he won both the first and second trials in a lawsuit he filed to nullify the disciplinary action. Early this year, both sides decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court, finalizing the rulings, and he regained his clerical status.