Seoul, South Korea - Rev. Ji Kwan became the 32nd top administrator of the nation's biggest Buddhist order on Monday (Oct. 31), winning a majority 165 votes out of the order's 320 representatives.
According to the Jogye Order of Korea Buddhism, the 72-year-old Buddhist monk beat Rev. Jung Nyun by 19 votes in a ballot held at Jogye -sa Temple in central Seoul. The runner-up won 164 votes. Eight votes were discounted while one vote went to a minor candidate.
With the result, Ji Kwan is entitled to lead the order for the next four years, following his predecessor Rev. Bub Jang, who died of heart attack in September.
The order's new executive director of administration was born Dec. 9, 1932 and entered into the priesthood at Haein-sa Temple in South Gyeongsang Province in 1947. He served as head monk at the temple from 1970 to 1972 and has worked as a professor of Dongguk University. He was also president of the university for four years from 1986.
The nation's largest religious sect runs 2,000 temples, with 15,000 Buddhist monks and nuns and around 8 million followers, making it the nation's largest religious sect. Buddhism is the biggest religion in Korea.