Lee Man-hee, Shincheonji Chairman, Tests 'Negative'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Man-hee, the chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), tested 'negative' for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) at the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment.

Chairman Lee voluntarily underwent specimen collection after Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung mentioned the possibility of 'arresting in flagrante delicto' and expressed his intention to forcibly collect the specimen the day before.

A provincial official stated on the 3rd, "The specimen collected from Chairman Lee Man-hee at the Gwacheon Public Health Center screening clinic on the afternoon of the 2nd was sent to the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment for testing, and the result was negative."

Earlier, Chairman Lee held a press conference the day before, revealing that he had been tested at the private hospital Gapyeong HJ Magnolia International Hospital and received a negative result, disclosing a copy of the medical record.

However, the province said it was difficult to trust the result as it was not confirmed in official records and repeatedly requested specimen collection from Chairman Lee based on the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

The province attempted to collect Chairman Lee's specimen after his apology press conference held around 3:15 p.m. on the 2nd in front of the Shincheonji training center, 'Palace of Peace' in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi, but the attempt was thwarted by Shincheonji officials.

In response, Governor Lee expressed his intention to forcibly collect the specimen and lead the forced epidemiological investigation site, departing from Suwon to Gapyeong around 7:10 p.m.

Subsequently, Chairman Lee left the Palace of Peace around 8 p.m. while Governor Lee was en route to Gapyeong, and arrived at the Gwacheon Public Health Center screening clinic around 9:15 p.m., where he underwent specimen collection via the drive-through method while remaining in his car.