Woljeongsa abbot hints at run for Jogye Order chief, criticizes robot monk ceremony

Venerable Jeongnyeom, abbot of Woljeongsa Temple on Odaesan Mountain and head of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism's fourth district, has again signaled he may run for head of the order while calling on Buddhism to take a more active role in the AI era.

Speaking at a book launch event for "Toeu Jeongnyeom, Awakening the Age" held Friday afternoon at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Jeongnyeom said he would not turn down the opportunity if it came his way. "Because Korean Buddhism needs to change rapidly, if such a position is offered, I would not refuse," he said.

He had earlier signaled his interest in the September election for head of the Jogye Order's administrative body, the Chongmuwon, at an April press event for another book, "The Great Monk of Odaesan," saying the order needed new leadership.

Some had speculated that Friday's book launch would serve as a de facto campaign kickoff, but Jeongnyeom stopped short of a formal declaration — official candidate registration has not yet begun.

Jeongnyeom has served as abbot of Woljeongsa since 2004, winning unanimous reappointment six consecutive times — the longest-serving district head temple abbot since the Jogye Order was unified in 1962.

In keeping with that record, he said the selection of the next Chongmuwon head should reflect a unified will among the order's followers.

"If the will of the followers is well consolidated, a consensus appointment is possible," he said. "From a religious tradition standpoint, an election might be seen as a second-best option, but it is also a meaningful process for building consensus. Currents calling for new change are expressed through elections, so the process must be conducted smoothly."

Jeongnyeom described his new book as a record of his reflections after a long tenure as abbot and his thoughts on the AI era. "It is a book written from the perspective that the time has come to step down from the abbotship I have held for so long — a record of my thoughts and impressions on how to view the AI age," he said.

He said Buddhism must generate philosophical discourse and offer ethical guidance in the AI era, and added that the Buddhist community was falling short. "The Buddhist world is being somewhat negligent on these issues," he said.

Taking apparent aim at the Jogye Order's robot monk ordination ceremony last month, he said performing an ordination on an AI or dressing it in Buddhist robes was "the result of a failure to deeply understand the AI era," and expressed concern that the order was moving too far toward spectacle-driven performance.

He then directed pointed remarks at Venerable Jinwoo, the incumbent Chongmuwon head whose four-year term is nearing its end. "If that is how one views the AI era, I wonder whether doing another four years would go well," Jeongnyeom said. "I would like to offer the candid advice that there is a lack of insight into the AI age."

He was equally critical of the Chongmuwon's push to promote "Seon meditation" as a mainstream practice, warning it could blur the Jogye Order's core identity. "I give some credit for efforts to make Buddhism more accessible and appeal to younger generations with a hipper image, but if taken too far, the essence gets diluted and priorities get inverted," he said.

The event drew the abbots of 12 of the Jogye Order's 24 district head temples, as well as a number of ruling and opposition party lawmakers. The Chongmuwon head election, expected to be held Sept. 3, will be decided by an electoral college of 321 voters — 81 members of the Central Council and 240 representatives elected by the 24 district head temples, 10 from each.