Buddhist monks hit by scandal after devotees filmed smoking, drinking and playing high-stakes poker

Six Buddhist monks have quit after being secretly filmed drinking, smoking and playing a game of poker in which more than £600,000 was won.

South Korean television showed shots of the monks who had gathered at a luxury lakeside hotel for a colleague’s memorial service. 

The monks, who played poker for 13 hours, were from the Jogye order, which has ten million followers – a fifth of the nation’s population. 

The head of the order made a public apology yesterday, vowing ‘self-repentance’. 

He added: ‘Basically, Buddhist rules say don’t steal ... they abused money from Buddhists for gambling.’                  Read Here