'Forced Disbandment of Shincheonji' 청와대 National Petition Surpasses 200,000 in One Day

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] A petition to forcibly disband the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, where a cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred, gained over 200,000 signatures within a day of being posted on the Blue House's petition website on the 23rd.

According to the Blue House website, as of around 5:30 PM that day, the petition titled "We request the forced disbandment of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony" had received about 220,000 signatures.

The petitioner stated, "Since its establishment, Shincheonji has continuously disparaged other religious believers such as general Christians and Protestants, and even committed acts of violence. It has infringed upon the 'freedom of religion,' which is a basic right of all Korean citizens, under the pretext of missionary activities. The indiscriminate and anti-humanitarian missionary activities and the maintenance of an abnormal religious system for the sole benefit of the cult leader can no longer be considered normal religious activities, and these are illegal acts that infringe upon the freedom and rights of the majority of the people."

Furthermore, the petitioner criticized, "The COVID-19 infection outbreak in the TK (Daegu and Gyeongbuk) region originating from the Shincheonji Daegu Church was also caused by Shincheonji's unethical doctrines and uncooperative attitude. Although they claim to 'cooperate with the government,' facts revealed by the media show that they issued instructions to obstruct epidemiological investigations and quarantine efforts related to COVID-19." The petitioner added, "Shincheonji destroyed the main control room of one of the nation's critical facilities, a broadcasting station, mocked and deceived the citizens of the Republic of Korea, and repeatedly engaged in unconstitutional acts. It is time to disband Shincheonji."

As of that afternoon, among the 556 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 309 were related to the Shincheonji Church. Additionally, there are over 1,000 symptomatic individuals, so further confirmed cases are expected.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.