The government's imminent decision to pursue a controversial engineering project as planned sparked a flurry of protests from the Buddhist community, which sees them as not only environmental disasters but impediments to the religion's cleric environs.
The Buddhist Environmental Alliance released a statement Friday opposing the government's plan to construct a tunnel cutting through Mt. Sapae, which is within the Mt. Bukhan National Park, north of Seoul, to complete a beltway loop circling the capital.
"Building a tunnel through mountains on the national park is tantamount to a public declaration of environmental destruction at the hands of the government as well as an anti-Buddhist decision," the alliance said.
Last Friday, the government hinted at resuming the construction of three national infrastructure works that have been halted due to public opposition - the Seoul beltway; a tunnel in Mt. Cheonjeong and Mt. Geumjeong along the Seoul-Busan high-speed railway; and a canal linking Seoul to Incheon.
The Seoul beltway project was suspended in November 2001 when it was met with opposition from environmentalists and Buddhist activists.
Officials say alternative routes were proposed, but they were either not economical or caused other forms of pollution and environmental concerns.
However, the engineering project to build a tunnel is viewed as destroying the environment, both naturally and religiously, in the area where two historic temples sit along the path of the planned route.
Jogye, a Zen Buddhist sect and the largest in Korea with more than 8 million followers, attaches greater importance to meditation under monastic religious lifestyle.
An association of the Jogye Order's monastic monks also expressed regret over the idea of building a tunnel in Mt. Bukhan, reiterating that a presidential committee formed to review this issue was once less supportive of the project with a majority of its members being very critical.
"President Roh Moo-hyun pledged to offer an alternative route during his election campaign, and if he breaks his promise, the government will face fierce opposition from the Buddhist community during April's general elections," said a senior monk who asked not to be named.
Buddhist monks affiliated with temples located on nearby mountains are the ones who are likely to hit back at the government the most.
Earlier this month, over 20 monks at Hoeryong Temple, near Mt. Sapae, grimly declared that they will "die together the moment Mt. Bukhan gets pierced."