South Korea Covid-19: Latest Church-linked Outbreak Is Turning Into A Battle Over Religious Freedom
De CidesaWiki
South Korea reported 288 new cases of the virus on Thursday, the majority of which were in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi province. The outbreak has been linked to the Sarang-jeil Church, which has reported hundreds of positive cases among its members, some 400 of whom have yet to be traced by the authorities.
The teachings of Shincheonji may also make members less likely to exercise caution in seeking to prevent the spread of the virus. "The group is quite secretive and deceptive. They certainly believe their leader is immortal and they’re pretty much promised eternal life," said Peter Daley, an English instructor at a university in Seoul and tracker of unconventional religious sects.
Shinchonji makes several proposal attempts for an open debate…However, no response from pastors. For years now, Shinchonji has been making several proposal attempts for an open debate with the pastors of the Reform churches. Unfortunately, Shinchonji would get only lukewarm responses from them. The pastors of the Reform churches go on and on criticizing how Shinchonji is a cult, but once they’re presented with a proposal for an open debate, they back out.
The protests came as the government moved to impose stronger social distancing restrictions in the city and nearby towns following a spike in coronavirus infections. But a court allowed some of them to go on, citing civil liberties after protesters challenged the city’s administrative order banning the gatherings. Some South Korean conservatives insist that the April parliamentary elections convincingly won by Moon’s party were rigged, although most experts see such claims as false conspiracy theories. Some of the marchers came from a church in northern Seoul that was shut down after it was linked to dozens of infections. Health officials are planning to isolate and test some 4,000 members of the church, led by ultra-conservative pastor Jun Kwang-hun, a vocal critic of Moon who has emerged as a leader of anti-government protests over the past months.
