대한불교조계종 총무원장 선출제도에 대한 연구 －추대제와 선거제의 비교－

Abstract

The president of the Jogye Order was usually elected by an approval of the Central Council of the Jogye Order, but indirect elections have been used for the president since the reformed order was launched in 1994. As indirect elections for the president by the Electoral College has revealed several issues―the election involving money and mudslinging some Buddhists argue that elections are not necessary in religious organizations, so that enthronement system as a tradition of Buddhism should be implemented. In this context, this study aims to suggest improvements to election systems for the president of the Jogye Order, through comparing an enthronement system with election systems. To achieve this objective, the study identifies the issues of concern about the current indirect elections of the president; such as money being involved in elections, fixation of faction politics and a weakening harmonization of the order, discord with Buddhistatmosphere, and no reflection of people’s opinions. Then, the study draws the following standards for election reform: fair election procedure, harmonization of the order after the presidential election, concord with Buddhist traditional election systems, reflection of all members’ opinions, and feasibility. According to the comparison and analysis of the enthronement system and election systems based on those five criteria, election systems, especially a direct election system satisfies the following criteria: reflection of all members’ opinions, concord with Buddhist traditional election systems, and prevention of bribery in order to keep the election procedure clean. In comparison, an enthronement system only contributes to secure fair election by controlling black propaganda. It is hard to say definitely which system is more suitable for the election of the president of the Jogye Order. However, the findings explain that a direct election system rather than an enthronement system meets more of the criteria to reform election systems. In terms of feasibility, the chances of reform into a direct election system are slim, because of sharp conflicts over establishment and reform of election systems among many factions in the Jogye Order. On the other hand, it is highly possible to amend and complement administrative regulations only, while maintaining indirect systems.