Hello, I am Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at The Korea Times. I primarily cover financial authorities and write articles on a wide range of topics related to finance and capital markets. If you have any information to share, feel free to email me at jjh@koreatimes.co.kr, and I will review it carefully. I am committed to always doing my best to communicate with readers through high-quality articles.
Churches criticized for ignoring gov't warnings
Passengers arriving at Incheon International Airport aboard a flight from Frankfurt queue for a chartered bus to move them to temporary accommodation near Seoul for COVID-19 tests, Sunday, after the government began conducting coronavirus tests on all arrivals from Europe. Quarantine procedures have been tightened to prevent any inflow of the virus from outside Korea. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
Several churches are encountering growing criticism for pressing ahead with Sunday indoor worship services despite the government and municipalities strongly calling for them to suspend the operation of their religious facilities amid the continued nationwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Local residents living near a large church in Seoul's Guro District even staged a protest in front of the building, urging its leadership to comply with government recommendation to conduct online services.
In a message, Saturday, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun strongly urged the suspension of the operation of religious, indoor sports and entertainment facilities for 15 days amid concerns over infection clusters, saying this time period was critical in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detected 98 new cases Saturday, bringing the country's total to 8,897.
Of the 98, 15 were infections of foreign origin. In a bid to prevent any inflow of the virus from outside, the administration began testing all arrivals from Europe, Sunday.
With the prime minister's message apparently failing to dissuade several religious groups from holding indoor Sunday meetings, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) dispatched officials to nine large churches to conduct inspections, in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
The defiant churches that were inspected included Yonsei Central Baptist Church in Guro District, which has around 40,000 registered members, and Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk District.
The officials examined whether the participants in the services wore face marks and maintained a distance of two meters between one another, and whether the churches had hand sanitizers.
“If the churches are found to be ignoring the guidelines, we will impose an administrative order banning them from holding indoor meetings,” an SMG official said.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said earlier that the city government would exercise its right of indemnity against churches if any coronavirus cases occur after they press ahead with indoor services, to charge them the cost of treatment and quarantine activities.
Such a measure comes after recent cluster infections were found centered on churches in Seongnam and Bucheon in Gyeonggi Province.
Dozens of Guro residents took to the streets to stage a silent protest in front of the Yonsei Central Baptist Church, holding banners calling for it to suspend indoor meetings.
Residents there are especially worried as a cluster infection at an insurance company's call center in the district highlighted concerns about the spread of the contagious disease in confined spaces.
Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin noted, also on Sunday, that at least 16 religious groups in the region had shown their intention to press ahead with indoor services, adding that most of them made the decision despite the government's pleas, due to their financial difficulties.
“Religious groups that do not have their own buildings have suffered difficulties in paying rent, among other things,” Kwon said during a briefing. “We are looking at ways of supporting those that cooperate with the government.”