Monk Myung-jin “Illegal temple at MB National Garden who hurt even a 20-year-old student…I still cry”

Myeong-jin, who was illegally inspected by the National Intelligence Service during the Lee Myung-bak (MB) government, said, “The life of a monk who has lived for 50 years has been denied.” It stipulated that the MB government’s actions against him were not mere’inspections’, but’duke’, and that it was national violence against civilians at the level of annihilation of character.

Recently, the issue of illegal inspection of civilians is attracting attention as personnel from various fields have revealed that they had been illegally inspected by the NIS during the MB administration, and the NIS released related documents based on court rulings and the like. Monk Myung-jin is considered a representative temple victim among religious figures.

Myeong-jin, who met at the headquarters of the Hankook Ilbo at Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd, calmly resolved the torment he had suffered for more than 10 years, unexpectedly. Monk Myung-jin was expelled from Bongeunsa Temple, where he had been with for a long time in November 2010, and was deprived of his victory in May 2017, and was forced to resign in disgrace.

He explained his situation and even smiled, saying, “Do I have any wealth or family? People who have to hide the truth more than me will have a pain in their heads.”

Although this is a monk Myung-jin, he was amazed at the peculiar part. The voice trembled. There was more sorrow than anger. Many times my throat was locked up at the bitter memories of having to lose important people without knowing the English.

One day in 2011, Myeong-jin received an e-mail from a Shinto who was just over 20 years old in the United States. In the mail,’I heard a scandal about the monk. It said that I don’t want to see the monk anymore.’ The person who sent the e-mail to the monk Myung-jin was a young believer who happily joined with his parents at Bongeunsa Temple until he was in high school.

Myeong-jin said, “I didn’t know why that Shinto was like that at that time. I was a friend who often called hello in the United States, but I still can’t forget how he turned soberly. I heard ridiculous rumors after a while. Only then,” said Myeong-jin. “I know why my friend turned his back on me.”

It is said that the NIS spread rumors to the believers of Bongeunsa at the time, saying,’The woman and two children hidden by Myeongjin, and the luxury of riding an extravagant luxury car.’

He said he still can’t forget the feelings of sorry for hurting a young student who followed him well, and the collapse and bitterness that the long-established relationship could be cut off for nonsense in an instant.

When he was deprived of victory, when he had to leave Bongeunsa, and when he heard that the NIS was looking into his card usage history, he was a monk Myeong-jin who turned it over with a bitter smile, saying, “It’s embarrassing,” but painful memories when telling anecdotes between international students I seemed to think of it.

“If I think of a student who is very disappointed, I can’t forgive the people of the MB government.”

Myeong-jin said, “My age is 70. I went to the temple at the age of 19 and devoted myself to Buddhism for 50 years. I was shot for 50 years.” Eleven years have passed since Myeong-jin claimed that he had been damaged by the NIS’ illegal inspection.

-The National Intelligence Service’s temple has already been more than 10 years old. When did you feel the most lonely?

“There was a Shinto middle and high school student who followed me well when I was the master of Bongeunsa. I was very interested in Buddhism and said that I was studying and said that I respected him. I was in tears after receiving a call from the student asking me to break a relationship. How disappointed I must have been. That’s why MB government people can’t be forgiven.

The rumors made by the National Intelligence Service influenced the believers. From one day, the eyes of the congregation members changed. I didn’t know why. Later it turned out,’I ride a Bentley and I have a woman and two kids. The content was very specific, such as that she runs a restaurant.’ Spreading rumors like this lowered the believers’ trust in me.”

-What was the most difficult thing as a religious leader during your visit to the temple?

“One day, a policeman told me,’When the monk comes over to his jurisdiction, you will know when it has passed.’ When you pass the highway, a high pass is taken, and that information goes to the investigative agency. That’s not enough, when it’s not enough. I was told that where and how much I spent and the card usage history.

It was creepy that the state agency looked at a person’s every step of the way. It was embarrassing and embarrassing that neither the errand center nor the nation’s top intelligence agency was doing this. How can the MB regime be so ugly? If I had been a timid person, I might have thought of death.”

“A lot of betrayals have been made, even including entourages for the follow-up of visitors to Bongeunsa Temple”

Monk Myung-jin said that the people around him were also inspected. It was said that some of the civil servants were taken to the temple just because they were close to the monk, as well as those who withdrew from their positions. Park Jong-hwan, the president of the Korea Freedom Federation, was inspected as the principal of the Police Education Center (Police General School, currently the Police Talent Development Institute), and the monk Myung-jin claimed that he was left with a police officer who spent his entire life.

-In the temple document, it says’a close sense of beauty (follow-up)’. Was even the neighbors inspected?

“It is said that visitors are beautifully sensed (following) as if looking at Bongeunsa under a microscope. When I enter the practice, there are times when I do not go outside the door for a certain period of time, and the NIS monitored the visitors thoroughly even then.”

-Are there any people around you who have been damaged by temples?

“I know that a public official who often visited Bongeunsa was stripped of his clothes for that incident. Governor Jong-Hwan Park was also a victim. When I was the president of the General Police School, I spoke often with me. I know that I left the police. He was under a tax audit, and later a middle-sized journalist confessed that he was also plagued by the NIS.”

-In the document, there is also an’investment of close friends’. Did any of the monk Myung-jin’s close associates join hands with the National Intelligence Service?

“One day, a bodhisattva (goddess-do), who followed me well, cried to me and said,’How can you do that because you have hidden women and children?’ When I asked where I heard such a story, I heard it from a monk who was assisting me while using my room next door. He said.

I asked for a three-way face-to-face. But the monk jumped and said that he had never said anything like that. I later found out that the NIS took over the monk and monitored my every move.

When I had to leave Bongeunsa in November 2010, the monk turned to me saying,’Please let the monk leave for Bongeunsa’. That was the most painful time. My relationship with this monk is long. It was enough that I trusted Bongeunsa Salim to this person. I felt tremendous betrayal and anger. It is a memory of betrayal that can only be said now.”

The reason why he became a’monk riding a snowboard’ and’Park Tae-hwan of the Buddhist world’

Monk Myung-jin has the nickname of’a monk who rides a snowboard’. At the age of seventy, he shows off his boarding skills as good as his twenties. He also showed off his board skills through YouTube as well as broadcasting.

Monk Myung-jin got on board when he left Bongeunsa Temple in November 2010 for a temple. In order to forget the pain of the temple, it was necessary to concentrate and cool down. Monk Myung-jin said, “Snowboarding was a way I practiced myself.”

-Famous as a monk who rides well on boards.

“I often snowboard in winter, swim in summer, and mountaineer in spring and fall. After leaving Bongeunsa, it is a hobby that I have been doing for 10 years, and it is time to relieve the resentment caused by damage to illegal temples. I board and get off the board. The moment you come, you will concentrate your whole mind on the board. The speed is so fast that you forget even complex thoughts.”

-How did you learn the board?

“Since I often visit the ski resorts, I had a lot of opportunities to talk with people in their twenties who came to board. I learned to board naturally from them. I am in my 70s, but when I learn to board, young people in their twenties are teachers to me. The young people I meet at the ski resorts I know I’m a monk with a known face, but I don’t know what I did and how bad the damage to the illegal temple was.

-Swimming is also known as a level of skill.

“In summer, I often visit the beaches on the east coast to swim. There is also a nickname of’Buddhist Park Tae-hwan’.

When the late Teacher Baek Ki-wan was alive, he went to mountain climbing and beaches with Paik. In the summer of last year, Mr. Paik said he wanted to get some air outside, so he took him there. When Paik saw me swimming, he laughed at once, saying,’The word Park Tae-hwan of Buddhism didn’t come out for nothing.'”

“Park Hyeong-jun, who is involved in the National Intelligence Service’s temple, if you are unfair, sue for defamation.”

Recently, monk Myung-jin mentioned the relationship between the illegal temple he had suffered and Park Hyung-jun, former head of the Blue House, and the public relations secretary, who is running as a candidate for the 4-7 Busan mayor’s by-election. “I’m trying to cover the sky with my palm,” he criticized for Park Jeon, who refuted that it was “unrelated to himself.”

He refuted that the investigation of himself involved not only the National Intelligence Service but also the Blue House, and that there is no way to know because the former General Secretary Ja-seung and former chief Park, who worked hard to expel Myeong-jin at the time, were close together. Monk Myung-jin emphasized that former chief Park was involved in the temple in the past, and said, “If there is a problem with my words, sue me for spreading false information and defamation.”

However, through media interviews, former chief Park confronts, saying, “The NIS has never made a face-to-face report on the document. I have not recognized any illegal contents or received any reports that I believe to be illegal inspections.” Rather, he argued that he had political intentions, saying, “It is stigmatizing to define the general information report of the NIS as a temple.”

-What was the reason for the appointment of former chief Park behind the temple?

“There was an election for the general secretary of Jogye-jong in October 2009. At this time, the (National Intelligence Service) document reported to the senior political affairs office says that’the left of Buddhists should not become the general secretary of the Jogye-jong.’ After this document was reported, Ja-seung became the general secretary. .

Next month, former chief Park visits Ja-seung with a congratulations on his inauguration. It is customary for the president of the Blue House Buddhist Association (Buddhist Association) to celebrate the inauguration of the general secretary. At that time, the chairman of the Buddhist association was Park Jae-wan, chief of national planning. It is unusual for the chief executive, not the Buddhist chairman, to give a congratulatory greeting on behalf of the Blue House.”

-Park, former chief, refutes that it is a duke ahead of the election and is a false fact.

“At the time, the Grand National Party leader Ahn Sang-soo, who tried to quit me, asking,’Would it be possible to leave the governor of the left?’, and Lee Dong-gwan, chief public relations chief of the Blue House, who exerted pressure on Kim Young-guk, who tried to testify.

Chief Lee said,’VIP (former President Lee Myung-bak) knows all the facts,’ while condemning and pressing him not to testify to Gyeonggi Kim. Does it make sense that VIP knows but Jung Moo-suk does not?

If you really didn’t know, it’s either a scarecrow or a political chief who has little influence. This means that he did not assist the president. It’s like saying that Park was a person who took up his place and received a salary without doing anything.

At the time, members of the GNP and Blue House, including Rep. Kim Jae-kyung and Cho Hae-jin, persuaded me to’stop criticizing the government’. If former chief Park says this but my argument is a problem, you can sue me.”

“It’s unpleasant to be used in the by-election… Democrats, the facts need to be investigated”

Monk Myung-jin acknowledged the increased interest in the temple due to the alleged involvement of former chief Park, but said it was “unpleasant” for the politics to associate it with the April by-election. In addition, he criticized the Democratic Party for focusing only on elections rather than the temple itself, a state of violence against the general public.

-This temple document became a hot topic because of former chief Park, who ran for the Busan mayoral election.

“It is unpleasant to be a talker with Park’s former chief job after not listening to it for 10 years. I want to protest this part to the Democratic Party as well. The Democratic Party should not connect this to the elections. It is said to create a special law to prevent inspections. This should be clearly defined.”

-Wouldn’t Park say it’s unrelated to him until the election is over?

“It is difficult to predict the outcome, but the state’s acts of violence against the general public should not happen again. I intend to fight this issue to the end, regardless of the by-election.”

“I have a 5·18 debt…religious people, must face unjust power”

When asked why he continued to speak out about world affairs despite being subjected to numerous insults, Myeong-jin said, “Because I was worried about the role of religion.” Above all, he stressed that he pledged to stand firmly against national violence during the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.

-Why did you continue to criticize the government even though you expressed that life was destroyed?

“I have a debt to the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. I was so sad to see people who had died unjustly by the state power at the time. Religious and religious people were worried a lot about what to do. People who did a lot of good things go to Heaven to Heaven. Isn’t it all about asking people to go? Religion’s role is to prevent and awaken wrongful acts of violence when someone is oppressed or threatened.

Some have been criticized as to why they do this kind of work after practicing their tao and doing their prayers. I want to tell these people to see the Pope. The Pope also makes a lot of political remarks, but it always resonates with the world. Even monks should criticize unjust power if they are in an important position.”

-What do you see as the message that this release of the NIS temple document is thrown to our society?

“I think it’s a problem that was triggered by division. If it hurts national security amidst the national security and anti-communist ideology, the logic that it is okay to threaten and damage the individual no matter how much it has worked.”

Once peace on the Korean Peninsula is established, this will no longer be forgiven. It makes no sense, although the NIS has not released some documents (related to illegal inspections under the MB government) for security reasons. State violence must be clearly disclosed.”

Ryuho reporter [email protected]

Jang Yoon-seo Intern reporter

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