Some 5,000 Buddhists took part in a service held at Chogye-sa Temple in downtown Seoul to mark Buddha's Birthday Wednesday, celebrating his words of wisdom and mercy.

In the congratulatory message read by Minister of Culture and Tourism Lee Chang-dong during a ceremony at the Temple, President Roh Moo-hyun called for a spirit of national harmony and unity.

The president also stressed such virtues as mutual respect, dialogue and compromise in helping to elevate the culture of democracy in South Korea.