What is the significance of secreting inactive pepsinogen from the mucosal cells instead of pepsin?

Pepsin is an enzyme present in the gastric juice which digests the proteins of the food material.

These pepsin are synthesized as pre-proenzymes or inactive forms by chief cells in the gastric mucosa of the stomach. These inactive forms consist of a signal peptide, activation peptide and active enzyme which gets activated in the acidic environment of stomach by Hydrochloric acid.

The stomach secrets this enzyme in an inactive form to prevent the digestion of protective proteins present in the lining of the digestive tract.