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A second temple, in Gangwon Province, has also received intensive financial support from the government since the now-disgraced curator Shin Jeong-ah was employed as a professor at Dongguk University, it emerged Thursday. Senior monks at the Woljeong Temple in Pyeongchang County served as board members of the college. The opposition Grand National Party, meanwhile, is investigating suspicions that in addition to former chief presidential secretary for national policy Byeon Yang-kyun, another close aide to President Roh Moo-hyun peddled his influence to give government subsidies to the temple and help Shin get hired as a Dongguk professor.
According to reports on government spending for the repair of traditional temples and cultural assets which the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Cultural Heritage Administration released to GNP lawmaker Park Chan-sook, the Woljeong Temple this year received W2.55 billion (US$1=W923) in government subsidies from the Cultural Heritage Administration to build a nine-story stone pagoda and a replica of a seated Bodhisattva statue. The temple received W1.25 billion in 2006 and W900 million in 2005 for the restoration of a west annex, bringing the total to W4.7 billion.
Among Buddhist temples nationwide, the Woljeong Temple was the largest recipient of government subsidies for the repair of cultural assets from the Cultural Heritage Administration. It is unusual for a temple to receive government subsidies for three straight years. It also received separate government subsidies of W75 million and W40 million from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2005 and this year.
In 2005, Shin was hired as a professor at Dongguk University and Byeon was promoted from vice minister to minister of planning and budget. Then the most senior monk of the temple served as chairman of the board of Dongguk University at the time, while the abbot is now a member of the board. On Wednesday, it emerged that the Heungdok Temple, built by Dongguk board chairman the Ven. Younbae, also received lavish government subsidies at the time of ShinĄ¯s employment.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Western ProsecutorsĄ¯ Office raided Daewoo Engineering and Construction as part of its investigation into ShinĄ¯s alleged embezzlement of contributions by corporations. The construction company donated W290 million to the Sungkok Art Museum when Shin was chief curator there. A prosecutor said that he and his colleagues are checking whether the disgraced curator took kickbacks from the donations.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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