Korean Party Sparks Controversy Over Dried Meat Gift to Jogye Order... Kim Myung-yeon Secretary-General Submits Resignation Letter

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, is wearing a stern expression at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The Liberty Korea Party faced controversy after sending beef jerky as a Lunar New Year gift to the Jogye Order under the name of party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, prompting Kim Myung-yeon, the party leader’s chief secretary, to express his intention to resign.

On the 20th, Kim stated at a closed supreme council meeting, "I will take responsibility for this matter and resign."

Hwang, who expressed his intention to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the beef jerky delivery, has reportedly not yet accepted Kim’s resignation.

Earlier, on the 17th, the Liberty Korea Party sent beef jerky as a Lunar New Year gift under Hwang’s name to the Jogye Order’s headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

However, the Jogye Order, influenced by Mahayana Buddhism, fundamentally prohibits monks from consuming meat. It is known that even within the Jogye Order, there were reactions of embarrassment upon receiving the gift.

The Liberty Korea Party realized belatedly that the beef jerky gift had been delivered to the Jogye Order and sent staff on the same day to retrieve the gift.

Regarding this, a party official explained, "The leader prepared beef jerky as a Lunar New Year gift this year, but we understood that a different gift was intended for the Buddhist community. The beef jerky meant for another destination was mistakenly delivered, and upon realizing this, we sent someone to the Jogye Order to retrieve it directly."

As the controversy grew, Hwang met with reporters after the supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly that day and said, "I sincerely apologize for causing concern. There was reportedly a problem in the delivery process, and we will thoroughly investigate the circumstances."

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