"Seoul Seongbuk 'Sarangjeil Church' Facility Closure Under Review"... Again Forcing In-Person Worship

Seoul Citizens Aged 55-59 Begin Pfizer Vaccinations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seongbuk-gu, Seoul is considering closing the facility of Sarang Jeil Church in Jangwi-dong, Seongbuk-gu, which has repeatedly violated the order to suspend facility operations.

On the 26th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government responded in a COVID-19 briefing regarding Sarang Jeil Church's enforcement of a large-scale worship service with 150 to 200 attendees (last weekend). Seoul explained, "If a person who has received an order to suspend facility operations resumes operations during the suspension period, a closure order must be issued according to the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act."

Earlier, Sarang Jeil Church held a large-scale worship service on the 18th and was ordered by the local district office to suspend operations from the 22nd to the 31st and fined 1.5 million KRW. The church filed a request for suspension of execution with the Seoul Administrative Court against this measure, but it was dismissed on the 24th.

The church is currently on trial for being reported last April for violating the Seoul city assembly ban order. In August last year, the facility was closed for two weeks after a COVID-19 case was confirmed within the church.

Meanwhile, starting today, Seoul will begin administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to citizens aged 55 to 59 at designated medical institutions. Additionally, by the 14th of next month, 82,583 workers at multi-use facilities will be targeted for the second round of autonomous vaccinations by local governments.

The vaccination rate among Seoul citizens is recorded at 33.0% for the first dose and 13.2% for the second dose. This figure is based on a population of approximately 9.6 million residents in Seoul. As of midnight on the 25th, vaccine supplies include 20,040 doses of AstraZeneca, 659,994 doses of Pfizer, 135 doses of Janssen, and 20,610 doses of Moderna, totaling 700,779 doses.

Park Yumi, Seoul's quarantine control officer, emphasized, "We ask all eligible individuals to participate in vaccination without omission," and added, "Even after vaccination, please wear masks indoors and outdoors at all times and comply with quarantine guidelines."