Lee Jae-myung: "If Chairman Lee Man-hee Violates Again, Criminal Responsibility Will Be Pursued"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, warned that he will hold Im Man-hee, Chairman of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, accountable criminally if he violates the facility closure order again.

On the 8th, through a post on Facebook titled "The Chairman Who Should Set an Example Violates the Closure Order First," Governor Lee expressed regret, saying, "Except for cases where permission was granted for maintenance purposes, Im Man-hee and his party violated Gyeonggi Province's facility closure order, which prohibits entry and use."

He continued, "Although it was the initial epicenter of COVID-19 spread, they remain uncooperative with quarantine efforts and even showed an aggressive attitude toward quarantine authorities. They outright violated quarantine measures, leading to criminal charges," adding, "If violated once more, we will hold Chairman Im Man-hee criminally responsible for previous delays in quarantine cooperation (such as prolonged non-cooperation in investigating the list of believers and refusal of specimen collection by the chairman for an extended period)."

Earlier, on the 7th, Gyeonggi Province filed a complaint with Gapyeong Police Station against Chairman Im Man-hee and five others for violating the 'Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.'

It was confirmed that Chairman Im Man-hee and five others unlawfully entered the Shincheonji Church of Jesus facility located on Jamgok-ro, Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, where Gyeonggi Province had imposed 'facility closure and assembly ban' measures on the 5th to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This site is known as the land where Shincheonji is constructing the Peace Museum. The province confirmed that the chairman and his party unlawfully entered the closed facility around 10:30 a.m. that day for internal management and tree planting purposes and stayed for several tens of minutes, submitting photos and videos from the scene to the police station.

According to the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, facilities that are closed cannot be accessed by anyone other than designated managers, and violations are punishable by fines of up to 3 million won.