Government: "3,381 Symptomatic Shincheonji Members Outside Daegu" (Update)

Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Investigates 190,000 Shincheonji Followers
"88% Investigated as of 0:00 on the 29th... 3,381 Symptomatic Cases Confirmed"

Members of the National Shincheonji Victims Solidarity held a press conference on the morning of the 27th in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, urging the dissolution of Shincheonji and the arrest and investigation of Chairman Lee Man-hee for alleged violations of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act before filing a complaint against him.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Among all Shincheonji Church followers, those exhibiting symptoms such as fever and cough have exceeded 3,000. Considering that a significant number of symptomatic individuals who are members of the Shincheonji Daegu Church have been confirmed positive, authorities expect the number of Shincheonji-related patients to steadily increase for the time being.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 29th, out of the list of approximately 210,000 followers obtained from Shincheonji on the 25th, about 190,000 individuals?excluding minors (16,000) and those with unknown addresses (863)?are being surveyed for symptoms. As of 0:00 on that day, investigations were completed for about 88%, totaling 171,682 people. Among them, 3,381 reported having symptoms, which is about 1.9% of respondents. The remaining 168,301 reported no symptoms.

Kim Kang-lip, the First General Coordinator of the Disaster and Safety Headquarters, stated at a briefing that "Symptomatic Shincheonji Daegu followers are either undergoing testing or have completed it, and about one-third of asymptomatic followers have had specimens collected." He added, "The rate of confirmed cases among these (Shincheonji Daegu followers) is quite high." He further predicted, "In the coming days, as testing of Daegu Shincheonji followers is completed, the number of confirmed cases in the Daegu area will continue at a considerable level."

Previously, health authorities judged the worship service held on the 16th at the Shincheonji Daegu Church as a 'super-spreader event' and have been prioritizing diagnostic testing centered on followers in the Daegu area. Among approximately 9,000 followers in Daegu, specimens have been collected from about 1,300 symptomatic individuals, and testing is currently underway. The recent sharp increase in confirmed cases in Daegu is largely due to this.

Health authorities have expanded the scope of investigation to include followers nationwide along with those in Daegu. For about 8,000 asymptomatic Shincheonji followers in Daegu, diagnostic testing will be conducted by visiting their homes to collect specimens. The authorities, together with local governments, are investigating asymptomatic followers in the Daegu area as well as followers outside Daegu. Given the number reaching 200,000, this is expected to take a considerable amount of time.

General Coordinator Kim said, "An investigation is also being conducted on 65,127 Shincheonji trainees," adding, "Together with local governments, we will compare the list of followers registered on the Shincheonji Church server with lists obtained through various means to ensure a thorough full-scale investigation."