Former Bongeunsa head monk Myeongjin dies in Jeju diving accident

The Ven. Myeongjin, the former head of Bongeunsa temple in central Seoul and a longtime advocate for reform within South Korea’s largest Buddhist order, died Saturday while freediving off the coast of Jeju Island. He was 75.

According to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and local authorities, Myeongjin was found floating near Haye Port in Seogwipo at about 9:30 a.m. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:29 a.m.

Police are investigating the circumstances of his death and believe he had been freediving based on the equipment he was wearing. They have reportedly found no external injuries or signs of criminal activity and have decided not to conduct an autopsy.

A memorial altar will be set up at Bongeunsa, where he served as head monk from 2006 to 2010. The funeral service will take place Tuesday, organized jointly by the religiuos and civic groups.

"We share with the entire nation the sorrow of losing a great elder from Korean Buddhism," President Lee Jae Myung said in a Facebook post Saturday. "We will long remember the monk's life and teachings, committed to equality and peace and compassion for all sentient beings."

Born in 1950, Myeongjin entered the Buddhist priesthood in 1969 and received sramanera ordination, the initial stage of Buddhist monastic training, in 1974. He later served on the Jogye Order’s Central Council and became a prominent voice for reform within the organization.

He was an outspoken critic of the Lee Myung-bak administration, during which he was under illegal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service, a government investigation later revealed.

He was expelled from the Jogye Order in 2017 amid disputes over his criticism of the order’s leadership and alleged irregularities. After years of legal battles, his monastic status was formally restored in February this year.

Myeongjin also called for South Korea to apologize for its participation in the Vietnam War, in which he served as a soldier before becoming a monk.