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| Quarantine authorities disinfect Sincheonji church in Daegu. / Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
A religious sect at the center of the increased spread of new coronavirus outbreak in Korea said Sunday it will sincerely collaborate with the authorities fighting to contain COVID-19 (nCoV-2019).
"We've been sincerely collaborating with the government and will continue to do so, hoping that the crisis will end soon," said spokesman Simon Kim for the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, simply called Shincheonji, during a briefing aired on YouTube.
"In fact, the church members are also the victims and I want citizens to keep this in mind. We earnestly request people to stop showering us with criticism and hatred."
The statement came in response to rising public criticism of the church for failing to assist in government in efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Earlier, local news media reported the church was refusing to share information requested by the government and ordered members to lie about their activities to them.
Refuting the criticism, Kim explained the church had offered all the requested information without any delay.
In an online petition filed with Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday, an angry citizen wrote, "I call on the government to disband Shincheon on this occasion."
The petitioner explained: "The reason for the virus' spread in Daegu and North Gyeongsan Province is because of Sincheonji's unethical dogma and its insincere collaboration with the government." The petition gained more than 200,000 supporters.
Last Tuesday, the Shincheonji Church in Daegu became the center of the country's coronavirus epidemic, after a member of the congregation was confirmed to have the COVID-19 (nCoV-2019) although she had never traveled outside Korea and had no record of being exposed to a confirmed patient.
She had attended the church twice in Daegu with thousands of other people during the incubation period for COVID-19; and congregants came from neighboring cities and villages in Ulsan and Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province.
Starting Wednesday, newly confirmed cases appeared among those who attended the services with her. As of Sunday, 329 out of 602 confirmed patients are from the church.
Daegu city authorities have been trying unsuccessfully to contact all members of the Daegu church ― almost 10,000.
On Sunday, the city said 1,276 people reported that they had suspected symptoms. Authorities said they were unable to find 670 people and asked police for help in tracing them.
Founded here in 1984, the Shincheonji Church has 120,000 members around the world. The church teaches that Lee, the founder, is Jesus Christ returned and only he can interpret the Bible correctly. In Korea, the church is notorious for soliciting money from members and for infiltrating other churches as a strategy to win new converts.
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