The Korean Times,,

President's Aplogy..

It's urgent to better embrace religious diversity..

The Constitution guarantees freedom of relision in South Korea..It also stipulates the separation of relision and politics..It is natural that the President, Cabinet ministers, lawmakers and civil servants should maintain religious neutrality..However, in the eyes of the Buddhist monks and followers, the Lee administration is seen as having a religious bias against them these days..

Buddhists' anger over the government's alleged pro-christian bias has reached a critical point where it can pose a serious threat to the Lee leadership reminiscent of the candlelight rallies against U.S. beef imports.. The President apologized Tuesday for what is described as discrimination against Buddhists..His cabinet also approved a revision of the civil servant code in a move to prohibit government employees from discriminationg against any specific religion in the process of carrying out their duties..

It is fortunate that Lee has admitted that some civil servants have recently made remarks and engaged in activities leading to a misunderstanding over religious bias..It marked the third time for Lee to make such an apology since he took office in late Feburary.. The two previous apologies came in May and June to appease the public strongly protesting the April 18 beef trade deal with the U.S.

However, it appears that Buddhists are not satisfied with Lee's expression of deep regret.. First, the apology came belately, despite the fact that over 200,000 Buddhist monks and believers staged a rally to vent pent-up anger over the alleged discrimination against their religion..Lee, a devout Christian, and his administration, deserve criticim for reportedly favoring Christians for top government posts, omitting the locations of Buddhist temples from an online government map for drivers, and the police search of a top Buddhist monk's car..

Particularly, the Buddhist community harbors grievnaces against Lee, and elder at a Presbyterian church in southern Seoul, who once said he would dedicate Seoul City to God while serving as mayor of the nation's capital..The President should have been more cautious not to arouse anger from any religious groups..It is disappointing that Lee has failed to draw a clear line betwwen religious freedom and his mandate to rule the country..

Another problem is that Lee has refused to accept the protesting Buddhists' call for the dismissal of the nation's police chief who is under attack for the police search of a sedan carrying Rev.Jigwan, leader of the nation's largest Buddhist Jogye Order. Although the search was done in the context of arresting a group of anti-government activists taking refuge in the Jogye-sa temple in downtown Seoul, it was unprecedented..He also promoted a backlash from Buddhist for promoting a Christian event for the police..
What's worrisome is that Buddhists monks and followers are likely to continue their protesting rallies around the country, despite Lee's apology..Thus, the President faces the risk of repeating mistakes committed during the candlelight protests over. U.S. beef.. Lee's leadership crisis has been created by his inabilityto listen to people's voices and win their heartsand minds. He once attributed the problem to a lack of communication with the public..It is imperative for the Lee administration to find a solution by respecting different pubic opinions and embracing religious diversity..