Jokyungtae: "The Problem Is Not Stopping China... We Shouldn't Blame Only a Specific Religion"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Cho Kyung-tae, Supreme Council Member of the United Future Party, emphasized on the 26th regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) that "our people have suffered because of China" and that we should not blame only a specific religion (Shincheonji), which has produced a large number of confirmed cases.

Cho appeared on YTN Radio's 'Noh Young-hee's Start of a New Morning' on the same day and said, "The government's quarantine measures can be seen as merely pretending to implement quarantine."

He pointed out, "The first principle of quarantine is the complete blocking of the source of infection," adding, "The origin of COVID-19 is China, and the government should have actively tried to block the virus's entry like other countries, but it failed even to pretend to do so properly."

Cho said, "Countries like Mongolia and Russia, which took strong measures against China, such as entry bans, are managing COVID-19 quite stably," and added, "While foreign countries are seen to be handling COVID-19 quarantine quite well, our country is adopting a too complacent and belated policy, pushing us into a crisis situation."

Regarding calls to close the Shincheonji Church to prevent further spread, he said, "Giving the impression of blaming only a specific religion or group without properly implementing entry bans against Chinese people or China can raise suspicions and misunderstandings of evading responsibility," and added, "Blaming only a specific religion could cause national division and conflict, so we must be very cautious about this. However, it is also necessary to actively encourage Shincheonji to cooperate."

On the ruling party's mention of a 'Daegu-Gyeongbuk lockdown,' he said, "Because the source of infection was not blocked, that is, because China was not blocked and such measures were taken against our own citizens, the anger is sky-high," and added, "President Moon Jae-in said, 'China's difficulties are our difficulties,' but in the end, our country and our people have truly suffered because of China."

He expressed strong support for the supplementary budget, saying, "There is about 3.3 trillion won in contingency funds in the budget, and by executing some of this early, we must supply masks and hand sanitizers to the people," and urged securing medical staff and negative pressure rooms. Regarding postponing the general election, he said, "This could potentially cause more anxiety among the people," and added, "Now is not the time to talk about the general election."

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