All Three Candidates—Gyeongyeom, Jeongnyeom, and Jinwoo—Qualify for Jogye Order Chief Executive as Three-Way Race Begins in Earnest

September 3 Election with 321 Electoral College Members Voting Indirectly

Jinwoo Stresses "Stability and Progress" While Jeongnyeom and Gyeongyeom Call for "Change and Communication"

Ven. Gyeongyeom, Ven. Jeongnyeom, and Ven. Jinwoo—candidates for the 38th Chief Executive (Jogye Wonjang) election of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism—have all passed the candidate qualification review. As a result, the election will be a three-way race between the incumbent Chief Executive seeking reappointment and two candidates from key regional head temples.

Venerable Gyeongyeom, Venerable Jeonyeom, and Venerable Jinwoo (in numerical order from the left), candidates for the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism Supreme Patriarch election.

The Central Election Commission of the Jogye Order held a meeting on the 19th and confirmed the candidacies of Ven. Gyeongyeom (candidate no. 1), Ven. Jeongnyeom (no. 2), and Ven. Jinwoo (no. 3). To be eligible, candidates for Chief Executive must have at least 30 years since ordination, be at least 50 years old, hold the Buddhist rank of "Jongsa-level" or higher, have served at least four years as the head of a diocesan main temple, or at least six years as a Central Councilor, among other constitutional and legal requirements of the Order.

The backgrounds and bases of support within the Order for these three candidates are distinct. Ven. Gyeongyeom previously served as Secretary General of the Jogye Order's Bureau of Administration, as a 15th and 16th Central Councilor, and as head monastic of Seonunsa Temple. Until recently, he also led the Jogye Order's largest policy group, "Buddhism Square." Ven. Jeongnyeom headed Woljeongsa Temple at Odaesan Mountain for 22 years since 2004 and served as the 11th to 13th Central Councilor. The incumbent Chief Executive, Ven. Jinwoo, has led Baegyangsa Temple and held positions as Director of the Administration Bureau, Director of Planning, and President of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, before being inaugurated as the 37th Chief Executive in 2022.

The election campaign is shaping up with Ven. Jinwoo running for a second term on the back of "stability and achievements" over the past four years, while Ven. Jeongnyeom and Ven. Gyeongyeom are calling for a change in the Order's management style. In his candidacy announcement, Ven. Jinwoo stated his intention to promote a new leap forward for Korean Buddhism based on organizational stability. The current executive team highlights the popularization of "Seon Meditation" and "K Meditation," as well as outreach projects focused on engaging with younger generations, as its main accomplishments.

Ven. Jeongnyeom is prioritizing a single-term limit for the Chief Executive and the strengthening of diocesan autonomy. He advocates for decentralizing authority concentrated in the headquarters to the dioceses, and for increasing transparency in decision-making and financial operations. Issues such as the decline in the number of monks and young Buddhists, and the survival crisis facing regional temples, were cited as key challenges the Order must address.

Ven. Gyeongyeom is emphasizing "consensus and communication" and building a "trustworthy religious order." Notably, as the recent leader of Buddhism Square—which played a key role in nominating Ven. Jinwoo in a consensus-based process four years ago—Ven. Gyeongyeom now runs as a competitor to the incumbent, becoming a significant variable in this election.

Whether Ven. Jeongnyeom and Ven. Gyeongyeom decide to unify their candidacies is another factor that could sway the outcome. During their respective candidacy announcements, both left the door open for a potential unification. Ven. Jeongnyeom, at the time of his announcement, indicated a willingness to seek common ground based on agreement over policy measures and public sentiment.

The Chief Executive election will be held indirectly on September 3, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at the Traditional Culture and Arts Performance Hall of the Korean Buddhist History and Culture Memorial Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The electoral college will consist of all 81 Central Councilors and 240 representatives (10 from each of the 24 diocesan main temples), totaling 321 electors in all. The selection of each diocesan electoral college will take place from August 19 to 23.

If two or more candidates remain in the race until election day, this will be the first genuine contest for the Jogye Order's Chief Executive in nine years, since the 35th election in 2017. In the 36th election in 2018, three of the four candidates withdrew just before the vote, making Ven. Wonhaeng the sole candidate and resulting in his uncontested election. Similarly, in the 37th election in 2022, Ven. Jinwoo ran unopposed and was elected without a vote.

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