Beomeo Temple head monk protests against police handling of fire incident

BUSAN, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- The head monk of Beomeo Temple, which was damaged by
fire last week, protested Wednesday that police have caused damage to the
temple's reputation by mishandling their investigation.
The fire last Thursday destroyed a wooden gate of the 1,300-year-old temple in
the southern coastal city of Busan. Footage from a surveillance camera showed a
man throwing an unidentified object at the gate in what appeared to be an act of
arson.
On Monday, police announced an apparent suicide by a Beomeo monk in a
northeastern town far from Busan, prompting public speculation that he might have
been behind the fire. But police later clarified that the unidentified monk was
found to be out of town when the fire occurred and his suicide appeared to have
no relation to the incident.
Visiting the Busan District Police Agency, Venerable Jeongyeo, Beomeo's head
monk, protested that his temple suffered defamation because of what he said was
police mismanagement of the case.
"Police damaged the reputation of all Buddhist monks by hurriedly releasing their
report to the press as if the monk (who was found dead) was related to the fire
just because he was from Beomeo Temple," Jeongyeo said.
Beomeo Temple was built in 678 during the Silla Kingdom and is one of the three
major temples in Korea's southeastern region along with Haein Temple and Tongdo
Temple.
The fire erupted while tensions were high between the Buddhist community and the
government over a funding issue. The Seoul-based Jogye Order, which oversees
Beomeo Temple, has expressed shock and sent a delegation to the temple to closely
watch the probe.



hkim@yna.co.kr
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