The Ven. Wonhak, director of the general affairs department of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, speaks to reporters on Tuesday. Seoul Transport Map Omits Names of Buddhist Temples Religion Continues to Haunt the Lee Administration Buddhists Protest against Gov't 'Discrimination' Gov't Cannot Afford to Alienate Buddhists Buddhists Rally Against Gov't 'Religious Bias' Buddhists Keep Up Pressure Over Religious Bias Religious Misunderstandings Must Be Resolved Police Chief to Keep His Job Lawmakers in Bid to Heal Rift With Buddhists Lee to Apologize for Religious Bias Tuesday

"Probably without intending it, some civil servants have recently made remarks and taken action that may give the impression of religious bias, and I express my deep regret at such remarks and acts as they caused concern among Buddhists," Lee said in a Cabinet meeting. He said regardless of the motives behind the recent search of a leading Buddhist monk's car by police, “the police commissioner must visit Buddhist leaders, offer an apology, and promise to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.”

The Cabinet meeting, meanwhile, approved a revision of the presidential decree to the civil servant code which will prohibit government employees from discriminating against any specific religion in the course of their duties. "Civil servants need a firm conviction that they cannot give the impression of religious bias but observe religious neutrality,” Lee said. “I hope that the incident will help pave the way toward reconciliation and tolerance among religious and public organizations."

The Ven. Wonhak, director of the general affairs department of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, held a press conference at the Memorial Hall of Buddhist Culture and History of Korean Buddhism in Gyeonji-dong, Seoul on Tuesday afternoon. "We regard President Lee's expression of regret as sincere,” he said. “But we have called for a package settlement of four issues, not a separate settlement. We'll try to make sure that the rest of our demands are met."

The monk, who heads a committee organizing protests against religious bias, said the group made four demands -- a presidential apology, the dismissal of the police chief, legislation against religious discrimination, and immunity for anti-U.S. beef protesters who have been camped out at the Jogye Temple, all before Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving. “Since not all of the demands have been met, we'll hold rallies across the country as scheduled after Chuseok,” he added.

(englishnews@chosun.com )