Lee, who is Christian, has been at odds with Buddhists since taking office in February, Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday.

To express their grievance to the Lee government, thousands of Buddhist lay people gathered for protest services at about 10,000 temples throughout the country, organizers said.

"Today we gathered here for the future of Buddhism," said the Ven. Jigwan Sunim, head of the Jogye Order. "We are all here to gain insights from Buddha's wisdom and to uphold his teachings."

Buddhist leaders say Lee has shown a pro-Christian bias through, among other things, the appointment of Christians to top government posts. They also are angry because of a newly released online government map omitting major Buddhist temples.

"A family would not be happy if the head of the household discriminates one from another. It would be the same with the society," Jigwan said. "Members of the society needs to respect each other, regardless of their religion. A nation is powerful only when it is united."