BUDDHIST MONK WOLJU PASSES AWAY

[Anchor Lead]

Buddhist Monk Wolju who has championed the social participation of Buddhist monks passed away at age 87. The funeral for the former chief executive of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism will be held at Geumsansa Temple in Gimje, Jeollabuk-do Province where he had served as head monk.

[Pkg]

Venerable Wolju, who served as chief executive of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, has entered nirvana. He was 87 years old. He had been hospitalized to receive treatment for pneumonia and other chronic conditions. He returned to Geumsansa Temple in Gimje, Jeollabuk-do Province where he used to stay before passing away.

[Soundbite] Jo Chun-hee(Jeonju Resident) : "I admired him. As a fellow Buddhist, it is heartbreaking to lose him."

Born in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do Province, the venerable Wolju served as the head monk of Geumsansa Temple and twice as chief executive of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. He is regarded as the champion of Buddhist monks’ social participation. When he was elected as the chief executive for the first time in 1980, he was taken by the police for resisting the military regime.

[Soundbite] Monk Ilwon(Head Monk, Geumsansa Temple) : "The military regime asked the Jogye order to issue a statement applauding it. But he refused, saying that the posterity will judge history."

Since then, he served as co-chair of the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice and took part in founding the House of Sharing, the group home for wartime sex slavery survivors. He also established a volunteer group to build wells and schools in Cambodia.

[Soundbite] (The Late Venerable Wolju(Nov. 2012)) : "When we share the pain and happiness of people around the world, we can faithfully live the life of a Buddhist disciple who aspires to shape a pure world of Buddhism."

His memorial altar is set up at Geumsansa Temple where mourners from all walks of life are coming to pay respect. After a five-day wake, the Jogye Order plans to hold his funeral and cremation ceremony on July 26th.