"Damage in Seoul Area Alone Reaches 13.1 Billion Won"…What Price Must Sarang Jeil Church Pay?

National confirmed cases twice that of Seoul... Autonomous districts, institutions, and merchants predict a series of lawsuits
Compensation of 8.2 billion KRW for church redevelopment is far from sufficient if lost

Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon, who received treatment for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and was discharged, is holding a press conference on the 2nd in front of Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has filed a 4.6 billion KRW lawsuit against Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu and Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon for damages. This amount includes not only the medical expenses for confirmed COVID-19 patients and living support costs for those in self-quarantine caused by the massive outbreak originating from Sarang Jeil Church, but also losses due to decreased public transportation usage, overtime pay for public officials involved in the full investigation of church members and visitors, among others. Adding the Seoul Metro's subway losses and the costs of on-site inspections of religious facilities conducted by 25 autonomous districts, the total damages amount to 9.2 billion KRW. When including the costs incurred by the government and the National Health Insurance Service for treatment and testing of confirmed cases, Seoul estimates the total to reach 13.1 billion KRW.

Of course, these figures are limited to the Seoul area. The number of patients nationwide who visited Sarang Jeil Church or came into contact with confirmed cases related to the church is twice as high. Considering the damages suffered by self-employed business owners who lost customers or had to close their businesses entirely following the government's strengthened social distancing measures, the amount increases exponentially. What should be the true cost that this church and its pastor, who deliberately obstructed and violated government quarantine rules, must pay?

Seoul Takes Action... Detailed Calculation of Damage Amounts by Category

On the 18th, when Seoul filed the complaint for damages against Sarang Jeil Church and Pastor Jeon at the Seoul Central District Court, it also disclosed the breakdown of the internally calculated damage amount of 4.62 billion KRW. This includes 330 million KRW borne by the city for medical expenses of 641 confirmed Seoul cases related to Sarang Jeil Church confirmed by the previous day (17th), 660 million KRW for living support for those in self-quarantine, 1.3 billion KRW for operating residential treatment centers, 2.25 billion KRW to compensate losses from decreased usage of city and village buses, and 17 million KRW for administrative costs related to the full investigation.

Initially, Seoul planned to file a 500 million KRW lawsuit last week and continue with additional lawsuits later, but instead submitted the complaint a week later with a clear, itemized assessment of the actual damage scale.

A Seoul city official explained, "Sarang Jeil Church and Pastor Jeon intentionally refused or obstructed epidemiological investigations, submitted false documents, and violated the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, causing a resurgence of COVID-19 not only in the metropolitan area but nationwide. Given the significant causal relationship with the substantial damages incurred, they are held liable for damages under civil law for unlawful acts."

The city will support Seoul Metro and district offices in filing separate damage claims for 3.57 billion KRW in losses due to decreased subway ridership and 1.04 billion KRW in administrative costs for the full investigation of church members and visitors and on-site inspections of religious facilities.

Separately, Seoul estimates the damages incurred by the state and the National Health Insurance Service due to confirmed cases related to Sarang Jeil Church within the city at 3.87 billion KRW and plans to share evidence to prove the damage amount. Following Seoul, Sarang Jeil Church and Pastor Jeon face a series of lawsuits from district offices, institutions, and the government.

On the 20th, as the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues, a notice restricting access and prohibiting gatherings was installed in an alley near Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Excludes Damages to Other Cities and Citizens... Doubts Over Ability to Pay Compensation if Lost

Moreover, this amount is calculated based only on confirmed cases residing in Seoul. Nationwide, there are 1,168 confirmed cases related to Sarang Jeil Church, with 527 cases outside Seoul.

Nearby businesses around Sarang Jeil Church have also suffered business losses due to confirmed cases visiting or the perception that the area around the church is dangerous. About 150 small business owners are preparing lawsuits seeking damages worth several hundred million KRW.

If these lawsuits result in losses for Sarang Jeil Church, the damages they must pay will reach at least several tens of billions of KRW. Although the church's financial status has never been disclosed, the 8.2 billion KRW compensation estimated by Seoul for the church located in a redevelopment area seems insufficient to cover the damages. Previously, after the Shincheonji Jesus Church cluster infection incident in February, Daegu City filed lawsuits against Shincheonji and its leader Lee Man-hee amounting to over 100 billion KRW.

Meanwhile, Sarang Jeil Church's legal team immediately opposed Seoul's damage claim lawsuit. They argued, "COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China, but the government baselessly claims that the outbreak started from our church, which is an infection that can occur anywhere nationwide," and insisted, "The government should now proceed with an international compensation lawsuit against China."