Half a dozen leaders of South Korea's largest Buddhist order have
been forced to resign amid a scandal in which monks were caught on video
drinking, smoking and playing poker for high stakes at a memorial event
for a dead Zen master.
The head of the Jogye order, which has around 10 million followers,
or about a fifth of the nation's population, made a public apology
yesterday promising "self-repentance".
The scandal erupted just
days before Koreans observe a national holiday to celebrate the birth of
Buddha, the holiest day of the religion's calendar.
But rather
than preparing for the holiday, South Korea has been glued to television
screens as channels show secretly taken footage of the senior monks'
high-jinks at a luxury resort in the south-west of the country.
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