[Breaking] 23 New COVID-19 Cases in Busan... Some Churches Continue to Resist Closure Orders

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] An additional 23 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in Busan.

Busan city health authorities announced in a COVID-19 briefing on the afternoon of the 17th that 13 confirmed cases were reported on the afternoon of the 16th, and 10 confirmed cases were reported on the morning of the 17th.

Meanwhile, police were deployed near Gangseo-gu Segyero Church and Seo-gu Seobu Church, which had announced worship services on Sunday.

Both churches recently filed for a provisional injunction to suspend the closure orders issued by their respective district offices regarding COVID-19 prevention measures, but the court dismissed the request.

Segyero Church held worship services by placing chairs on the lawn plaza in front of the church, while Seobu Church held small-scale indoor services. Segyero Church stated that they plan to appeal the court's dismissal of the provisional injunction.

A church official said, "Since the administrative authorities have not presented evidence that regular worship services are the cause of the spread of COVID-19, we have no choice but to continue holding regular worship services."

A district office official said, "If the worship services are forced to continue, we plan to take all legal measures available."