[천지일보=박준성 기자] 신천지예수교 증거장막성전(신천지) 이만희 총회장이 2일 오후 경기 가평 평화연수원에서 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 사태와 관련해 공식 입장을 밝히고 있다. ⓒ천지일보 2020.3.2

[NewsCJReporter Park Joon-sung] Chairman LeeMan-hee of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (SCJ), makes an official announcement on the afternoon regarding the outbreak of the novel coronavirus(COVID-19) at Gapyeong Peace Training Institute in Gyeonggi Province. ⓒnewscj 2020.3.2

IssueForum | 100 Days Since COVID-19 Emerged in Shincheonji
 

Shincheonji, 100 days since closure from confirmed cases

Placed in a difficult situation due to banned entry and the absence of the secretary

when the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) requested a list of all members.

Submitted list to the best of their capability to cooperate with infectious disease prevention and control

“Continuous pressure after COVID-19 infection”

Sued and license to operate revoked for HWPL

“Suppression of religion and peace”

Who is responsible for fire or theft during closure?

[NewsCJ Reporter Robert Kim] The 28th of last month marked 100 days since the confirmed case of COVID-19 at Daegu Church. It has also been 100 days since the closure of all Shincheonji Churches in the country due to the infectious disease prevention and control.

It is true that Shincheonji Church minimized damage thanks to the effort of the government’s active infection preventive measures. Leaders of the Shincheonji Church are also said to have worked hard to comply with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) at a time when access to the church and movements were restricted due to its closure and the state of self-quarantine.

However, many question whether the acts of finding the people—who were unwillingly infected by COVID-19—responsible and deserving of murder charges, the constant pressure of tax audits, prosecution investigations, and the revocation of the license to operate are considered “justice.” Furthermore, are these genuinely done for “infectious disease prevention and control?”
 

◆ “Better Measures Should Have Been Taken for the 1st to the 30th Patients and Entrants”

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in South Korea was a Chinese woman who arrived from Wuhan on the 20th of January. Since January 24th, the Chinese Lunar New Year, there had constantly been one to two confirmed cases of COVID-19. The infection in the community started on January 26th with the third confirmed case. The third confirmed person is a Goyang citizen who returned from Wuhan. Through this person, there were five people who were directly or indirectly infected.

By February 16th a total of 30 confirmed cases were reported in South Korea alone. There were already 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 before the 31st case. This is objective evidence that proves Shincheonji did not bring COVID-19 from abroad or create it. Yet, after the massive infection emerged in Shincheonji Daegu Church by the 31st confirmed case, the government and media claimed Shincheonji to be the “COVID-19 epicenter.”

A Shincheonji personnel stated, “At the time, many members of the Daegu Church were infected when the 31st confirmed person was not yet diagnosed of COVID-19.” This personnel also added, “The 31st confirmed church member did not create COVID-19 nor did she go to China, but she got sick after visiting a head office in Seoul.” This person emphasized, “What is important is that there were 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 before the 31st. If better preventive measures were taken for these people and the entrants, the disease would not have spread further.”

1~31번 환자 발생 및 특이현황. ⓒ천지일보 2020.6.1
Emergence of the 1st to 31st Confirmed Cases and Unique Current Situation.ⓒnewscj 2020.6.1

◆ “Sincerely Grateful to the Government for Their Efforts in Infectious Disease Prevention and Control for COVID-19”

On February 18th, a Shincheonji Daegu Church congregant was confirmed to be the 31st case of COVID-19. Shincheonji headquarters ordered the closure of all churches and placed a ban on worship as soon as they were informed about the 31st confirmed case. This happened when the 31st person, a Daegu Church female congregant, was the only confirmed case. No one predicted a massive outbreak at this point. Shincheonji’s response at that time reflects how they responded preemptively compared to regular churches that continued to insist on resuming worship.

After the 31st case, there were hundreds of confirmed cases found from the COVID-19 examination done for the Shincheonji Daegu congregants. Thereafter, the President mentioned to “Investigate Shincheonji thoroughly.” The President’s words changed the atmosphere from taking measures of COVID-19 for Shincheonji to dealing with criminals. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) requested a list of members as soon as the President spoke. The justification for this was the idea to cooperate with the infectious disease prevention and control to prevent the spread of the infectious disease.

From Shincheonji’s stance, there were no reasons to reject the CDSCHQ’s request of the list when it came to “protecting the congregants.”A Shincheonji personnel stated, “Many people were saved due to the government’s prompt decision to examine all Shincheonji congregants for COVID-19.” They added, “We sincerely thank the government for preventing the spread of COVID-19 and for taking the measures for the infected people which were beyond the church's ability.”

[천지일보=남승우 기자] 21일 서울 서대문구 신천지예수교 증거장막성전 시몬지파 서대문교회에서 방역 작업 관계자가 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 예방 소독 작업을 하고 있다. 한편 이날 오전 박원순 서울시장은 신종코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 확산 방지를 위해 서울소재 신천지교회를 폐쇄하겠다고 밝혔다. ⓒ천지일보 2020.2.21
[NewsCJReporter Nam Seung-woo] On the 21st, an official from the infectious disease prevention and control team is working to prevent and disinfect the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) at Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, Simon Tribe of Seodaemun Church located at Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Meanwhile, the Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announced earlier in the day that he would shut down Shincheonji Church in Seoul Metropolitan Region to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). ⓒnewscj 2020.2.21

◆ The inside story of why the list of Daegu Church congregants was not released immediately

According to a statement made by aShincheonji personnel through a telephone interview with Newscj, on February 19th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) requested a list of the congregants of Shincheonji Daegu Church. However, the immediate release of the list was impossible due to realistic complications. At the time, the head of the Daegu Church was infected by COVID-19 and all the people in charge, including the secretary, were under isolation. Furthermore, releasing personal information without consent could lead to the church being sued, so they had to confirm with the members.

Personnel of Shincheonji said, “When the headquarters’ Managing Director heard the situation of the Daegu Church he worked with great effort to resolve this issue. He eventually found and sent the list from the headquarters and Daegu.” This person also pointed out, “Despite the efforts to submit the lists to cooperate with the infectious disease prevention and control team, there were still criticisms and misunderstandings that ‘Shincheonji intentionally submitted the list late’ and ‘they interfered with the infectious disease prevention and control.’”

Regarding the members who were unreachable, the personnel explained, “There were instances where some public officials who were concerned about persecution did not provide accurate information to the church. Also, there were some members who were either far away (overseas) or didn’t receive the church’s request to cooperate.”

The Shincheonji personnel continued, “To this moment, we are continuously asked to submit various materials even though we can’t enter the church because it is closed. We are not in the situation to satisfy all the requests 100%.” He then added, “There is no one managing the building. Who will be responsible if there is a fire or theft in this situation?” He asked, “The prevention and control for COVID-19 is really important, but if they block access to the building, then who will be conducting this? If prevention and control are the real purpose, shutting down the church offices would not be the proper measure.”

He commented, “Since the massive infection at Shincheonji Daegu Church was confirmed, the government, local government, National Tax Service, and prosecution have been pressuring Shincheonji who are also a victim of COVID-19.” He asked, “Is being unwillingly infected by COVID-19 a crime or are they victims?”

브리핑하는 박원순 서울시장. (출처: 연합뉴스)
Seoul Mayor Park Won Soon’s Briefing. (source: Yonhap News)

◆ “It is unfortunate that the license to operate for the international peace organization, ‘HWPL,’ is revoked”

“Based on the negative public opinion ofShincheonji, the Mayor of Seoul revoked the license to operate ‘the new heaven and new earth’ and the peace group (HWPL), which was established for ‘world peace and the cessation of war,’” a personnel of Shincheonji said. “It is unfortunate that instead of helping the peace group, which is acknowledged by the whole world and has enhanced South Korea’s national status, they revoked their license to operate due to political reasons.”

“Isn’t this the suppression of religion and peace?” asked a Shincheonji personnel regarding a series of measures taken after COVID-19. He emphasized, “We are told to take responsibility for having the most infected cases of COVID-19, but Shincheonji Daegu Church did not create COVID-19 nor did we bring it from another country.” He stressed, “However, we are in a position where the religion “Shincheonji” has been canceled and the license to operate for the peace group (HWPL) has been revoked,” “We are all human beings. We should listen and judge the situation with the thought of how I wouldfeel if this were to happen to me.”

Meanwhile, when it was revealed on the 10th that a COVID-19 confirmed person went to a gay club in Itaewon, the government issued infectious disease prevention and control guidelines with sexual minorities in mind. On the same day, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said, "Criticism against certain communities is not helpful for prevention. If a contact avoids a diagnostic test for fear of criticism, the entire society will suffer the damage. Anyone who stays close to another person in a confined space for a long time can be exposed to the risk of infection.”

Why is this very logical prevention standard an exception for Shincheonji? Are a large number of infected people criminals and not victims; or, if a vested interest dislikes a group, are they considered “criminals?” Is this “justice” that the current government wants to pursue?It is now time for those involved to answer.

KEY SUMMARY

February 18th, 31st confirmed case

A congregant(31st confirmed case) of Shincheonji Daegu Church tested positive for COVID-19 on the 18th of February. The next day, hundreds of congregants from Shincheonji Daegu Church were confirmed positive. This became a turning point of the COVID-19 situation in South Korea.
 

The Inside Story of the List Provided by Shincheonji

As soon as the confirmed cases in Shincheonji Church in Daegu emerged, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters requested a list of all congregation members. However, despite submitting the list while the church was closed and the person in charge was in isolation, there were still criticisms for interfering with the infectious disease prevention and control.


Is Contracting COVID-19 a Crime or Are They Victims?

Shincheonji Church neither created the COVID-19 virus nor brought it from abroad. Yet, pressure has been rising with accusations of murder, revocation of the license to operate, tax audits, and prosecution investigations. Is it a crime to have many infected victims?

Source: NewsCJ(http://www.newscj.com)

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