August 15 Liberation Day Rally Proceeding as Scheduled
'Mass Infection' Sarang Jeil Church Also Attending
Jeon Kwang-hoon Calls COVID-19 Spread "External Terror"
[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Concerns over a large-scale spread are rising as many members of Sarang Jeil Church, where numerous confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) have been reported, are known to have massively attended the large-scale Gwangbokjeol rally held at Gwanghwamun on the 15th.
About 20,000 people gathered at various locations in the city center, including in front of Dongwha Duty Free Shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and Euljiro 1-ga Station in Jung-gu, where the rally was held that day.
Initially, the Seoul Metropolitan Government requested these groups to voluntarily cancel the Gwangbokjeol rally, but when the groups did not comply, an administrative order banning the rally was issued. According to Seoul city, a total of 26 groups reported the Gwangbokjeol rally, with a total of 220,000 participants registered. However, the Seoul Administrative Court partially accepted the suspension of the enforcement related to the Gwangbokjeol rally ban, and the rally proceeded as scheduled.
Members of Sarang Jeil Church, led by Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, also attended the Gwangbokjeol rally. Although Sarang Jeil Church received a ban notification for the rally near Gyeongbokgung Station that was reported that day, it is known that they encouraged believers nationwide to participate in other rallies. As of 2 p.m. that day, at least 134 cumulative confirmed cases had been reported from this church.
So far, a total of 4,043 people related to this church have been tested. Seoul city has sent safety guidance text messages to these church members and visitors and issued an order to comply with COVID-19 diagnostic testing the day before. However, if additional confirmed cases increase in the future, more people classified as contacts may emerge, raising the possibility that the rally could act as a transmission route for COVID-19 infection.
Prior to the rally, Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon reportedly claimed that the COVID-19 spread within Sarang Jeil Church was an "external terror." The day before, a Christian media outlet cited a phone interview with Pastor Jeon conveying this claim.
In the interview, when asked whether he told church members with suspected COVID-19 symptoms not to come out, Pastor Jeon said, "The (self-quarantine) measures have already been taken," and added, "Another thing is that this time we were subjected to a virus terror attack."
He also said, "We are currently analyzing the video, and we cannot have caught it," and claimed, "Every time we attend rallies, we all get tested, and all tests are done one-on-one, and so far, no one has caught it. This is definitely an external virus terror attack."
The police announced that they have formed a dedicated investigation team of 29 members to begin investigating participants of the illegal rally held that day. Groups that held long rallies at locations such as Sejong-ro Intersection and Gwanghwamun Square, aside from the permitted rally, are facing charges including violations of the Assembly and Demonstration Act, general traffic obstruction, and violations of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. The police plan to analyze collected evidence to identify those involved in illegal activities and investigate all groups that held rallies that day.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 is rapidly spreading, mainly in the metropolitan area. The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced that as of midnight that day, 166 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 15,039. This marked the second consecutive day with triple-digit cases. Infections originating from Sarang Jeil Church are also rapidly occurring in various regions including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon.
The government decided to raise social distancing from level 1 to level 2 for two weeks starting on the 16th in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, where confirmed cases surged mainly in churches, markets, schools, fast-food chains, and door-to-door sales companies.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
