Venerable Myeongjin, who served as the chief monk of Bongeunsa in Seoul, was found unconscious at sea off Jeju on the 22nd and taken to a hospital but passed away. He was 76 by secular age, with 52 years in the monastic order.
According to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the police and fire authorities, Venerable Myeongjin was found floating in the water at about 9:38 a.m. near Haye Port off Haye-dong in Seogwipo, Jeju, on this day. Rescuers transported him to a hospital, but he was pronounced dead at about 10:28 a.m. His body was placed at Seogwipo Medical Center.
The Korea Coast Guard is investigating the exact circumstances on the possibility that Venerable Myeongjin was involved in 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 left home to become a monk at Baengnyeonam Hermitage of Haeinsa in 1969. In 1974, he received the novice precepts with Venerable Tanseong as his preceptor, and in 1994 he took part in reforms of the Jogye Order. He later served as a member of the 11th Jogye Order Central Council and as vice chair of the Central Council from 1998 to 2002, and from 2006 to 2010 he served as chief monk of Bongeunsa in Gangnam District, Seoul.
Venerable Myeongjin publicly criticized the Jogye Order's administrative leadership and the Lee Myung-bak administration starting from his tenure as chief monk of Bongeunsa. It later became known that he had been targeted by the National Intelligence Service's illegal surveillance of civilians.
In 2017, the Jogye Order expelled Venerable Myeongjin, citing reasons such as damaging the order's honor. Arguing the disciplinary action was unfair, Venerable Myeongjin filed suit, and both the district court and the appellate court ruled that the expulsion was invalid. Early this year, with both sides deciding not to appeal to the Supreme Court, the rulings were finalized and Venerable Myeongjin regained his clerical status.
Venerable Myeongjin also had a record of service in the Vietnam War. The Jogye Order, its affiliated head temple Beopjusa, and Namseonsa in Jeju, where he had recently been staying, are discussing funeral arrangements.