Jogye Order Chief Executive Director Election Set for September 3... Candidate Registration Begins August 11

Official Campaigning Begins August 14
Electoral College Representatives Chosen by District; Final List Confirmed on August 25

The 38th election for Chief Executive Director of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is scheduled to take place on September 3.

A Buddhist devotee is praying while walking around the pagoda at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

The Central Election Commission of the Jogye Order held its fourth meeting on the 22nd and finalized the election schedule. Candidate registration will take place over three days, from August 11 to August 13. The official announcement of the election will be made on July 28.

After candidate registration closes, election campaigning will be permitted from August 14 to September 2. Between August 19 and August 23, each diocesan district across the country will elect its representatives to the electoral college, and the final list of electors will be confirmed on August 25. Voting will take place on September 3, and the winner will assume leadership of the order in accordance with the conclusion of the current term of Chief Executive Director Jinwoo.

This election is the process of selecting the highest administrative leader who oversees the administration of the Jogye Order and will be held as an indirect election with an electoral college composed of members of the Central Council and district electors. If there is only one candidate, election by acclamation without voting is also possible.

So far, both within and outside the order, current Chief Executive Director Jinwoo, as well as Jeongnyeom and Gyunggu, have been mentioned as potential candidates.

Meanwhile, in the previous month, the chief monks of the 18 diocesan headquarters of the Jogye Order expressed their hope to reach a consensus on a single candidate for the sake of the order’s stability and unity during the Chief Executive Director election, and declared that negative campaigning targeting opposing candidates should be rejected.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.