Imanhee to Hold Press Conference Today at 3 PM at Gapyeong Shincheonji Training Center

Lee Man-hee, President of Shincheonji / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), which was criticized as the epicenter of the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), will hold a press conference and announce its official position at 3 p.m. on the 2nd at the Shincheonji training center in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province.

In particular, it is expected that Lee Man-hee, the chairman of Shincheonji who was accused by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon of murder and other charges, will attend the press conference in person.

The press conference is known to be held in the form of Lee Man-hee, the chairman, and the working-level staff attending at Shincheonji's 'Palace of Peace' in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province.

Shincheonji officials participating in the press conference claim that all have tested negative for COVID-19.

Previously, Shincheonji was pointed out as the epicenter of the domestic COVID-19 spread and received strong criticism from some government ministries and local governments.

On the 28th of last month, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae instructed frontline prosecutors, "If there are illegal acts such as obstruction or refusal of epidemiological investigations by authorities, respond strongly with forced investigations such as search and seizure."

Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don also requested the government to conduct a search and seizure of the Shincheonji Gwacheon headquarters to verify the exact identities of Shincheonji members.

On the 1st, around Sincheonji Daegu Church in Nam-gu, Daegu, more than 50 soldiers from the 2nd Operational Command are conducting disinfection and sanitation operations to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), forgetting even the holiday. / Photo by Yonhap News

On the 1st, Seoul City also filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office against Chairman Lee and the leaders of 12 Shincheonji branches on charges of murder, injury, and violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

On that day, Seoul City explained the background of the complaint, saying, "The accused have the obligation to voluntarily undergo testing and ensure that other believers cooperate with testing and epidemiological investigations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Nevertheless, they refused testing and took no measures to ensure that believers actively cooperate with quarantine authorities to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

They added, "There are even suspicions that Shincheonji obstructed authorities' work by omitting or falsely recording believers' lists submitted to the government and various local governments."

Shincheonji had also announced a press conference on the 24th of last month but switched to an online live broadcast announcement due to difficulties in securing a venue.

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