▲ This undated file photo shows Ven. Myeongjin, former chief monk of Bongeun Temple in Seoul. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday expressed his condolence over the death of Ven. Myeongjin, former chief monk of Bongeun Temple in Seoul.

Ven. Myeongjin died Saturday at the age of 76, after a maritime accident presumed to have taken place while practicing free diving. After being found floating in waters off the southern resort island of Jeju, he was rescued and moved to a hospital, but was later pronounced dead.

"I am sharing sorrow with the people over the loss of a great leader in Korean Buddhism," Lee wrote on his Facebook page.

Recalling his luncheon meeting in July last year with the late monk, Lee said Ven. Myeongjin asked for him to open a world where workers suffering under the wealth gap can equally live and open a path toward the two Koreas' peace.

"I will long remember his life and dedication, as he lived with a heart of equality, peace and compassion for people," the president said.

Born in 1950, Ven. Myeongjin became a Buddhist monk in 1969, and served as the chief monk of Bongeun Temple in southern Seoul from 2006-2010.

He was previously under illegal surveillance by the spy agency after publicly lashing out at the government of then President Lee Myung-bak.

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