The head monks of 25 parish Buddhist temples, which belong to the Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist sect in the nation, issued a statement calling for a fair investigation into the allegations without groundlessly damaging the reputation of the Buddhist order.
The prosecution now suspects that Buddhist monk Yeongbae, head of Dongguk University's board of directors, was aware that Shin was hired as a professor of the university with a forged academic record.
But Yeongbae attempted to cover it up, and in return, Byeon, allegedly in a close relationship with Shin, arranged the illegal provision of state subsidies to Heungdeok Temple in Ulju, where Yeongbae also serves as chief monk, a prosecution source said.
The statement also said that the Buddhists will take legal action against coverage by the news media which damages their reputation.
It also claimed that the allegation of the Buddhists involvement was a political maneuver that should be stopped.
