Court Rules "Limiting In-Person Religious Activities to 19 People Is Justified"

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The court rejected the injunction request filed by a Christian group seeking to halt the enforcement of Seoul City's quarantine measure limiting in-person religious activities to 19 people or fewer.

On the 4th, the Administrative 14th Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Chief Judge Lee Sanghoon) dismissed the injunction request filed by 19 members of the Free Citizens' Coalition for Worship Restoration (Yejayeon) against the Mayor of Seoul.

Yejayeon requested the suspension of the enforcement of the parts of the notice issued by Seoul City on the 26th of last month that stated "only 10% of the total capacity may attend, with a maximum of 19 people allowed" and "religious facilities that have violated quarantine rules or have a history of closure due to confirmed cases are prohibited from holding in-person worship."

On that day, the court stated, "Allowing in-person worship for up to 19 people does not constitute a complete ban, and even small churches that find it difficult to equip video broadcasting devices or other equipment for non-face-to-face worship can hold limited in-person worship," rejecting Yejayeon's claims.

Meanwhile, Seoul City's notice followed the standards set by the Seoul Administrative Court last month. At that time, the court permitted in-person worship for "up to 19 people within 10% of the facility's capacity."