"Zumba Dance Instructor Husband Appeals to Cheong for 'Personality Murder' Against Wife Sparks Controversy"

"Attacked More Than Wife, Church, and Shincheonji"
"Wife Is Not a Super Spreader"
Active as Zumba Dance Instructor, Contacted Many Students
88.1% of Confirmed Cases in Chungnam Linked to Zumba Classes

The instructor's husband appealed, saying that severe character assassination occurred after his wife was confirmed positive.
Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Website Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] In the Cheonan area of Chungnam, South Korea, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been spreading centered around a Zumba dance studio, leading to intense criticism directed at the instructor who conducted the classes.

Since COVID-19 can be transmitted through droplets, group activities should be avoided, but due to many students participating together in a confined space, concerns about infection have increased, raising the possibility of spreading to the local community.

As the controversy escalated, the instructor’s husband appealed for the criticism to stop, saying that severe character assassination occurred after his wife tested positive.

However, with over 600 contacts linked to the Zumba studio, opinions are divided between claims that the instructor was a major cause of the spread and calls to stop defaming her.

On the 4th, a petition titled "I am the husband of the Cheonan Zumba dance instructor" was posted on the Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae) public petition board.

The petitioner stated, "After my wife was diagnosed positive, she felt ashamed and remained silent. But I could no longer endure it and decided to write this post," adding, "I had only heard about cyberbullying, but experiencing it firsthand, it is not someone else’s problem. Not only various comments but also articles that report falsehoods as facts are causing serious character assassination."

He continued, "I am convinced that my wife is also a victim of secondary and tertiary infections," and claimed, "Cheonan City Hall has not investigated whether any students or people who met my wife were affiliated with Shincheonji, but continues to announce that my wife is the initial source of infection or a super-spreader."

He especially raised his voice, saying, "Just because she attended church a week before testing positive, they treat my wife and the church as cults and attack her more harshly than Shincheonji. Are all independent churches cults?"

Finally, he asked, "After reading this, do you still want to continue the witch hunt?" and added, "The health center also said it is difficult to consider my wife as the initial transmitter or super-spreader. We just want to know who caused the infection."

The petition has exceeded 100 preliminary consents and is currently under review by administrators. However, if it does not meet the Blue House petition requirements, it may be made private or partially hidden.

Earlier, it was confirmed that Zumba dance instructor A (46) was a member of JMS (Christian Gospel Mission), raising concerns among citizens that more confirmed cases might emerge. In response, JMS announced on their official website on the 2nd that all tests for the Cheonan church members came back negative.

Some citizens raised their voices, saying that criticizing based solely on movement paths is a witch hunt. Photo by Yonhap News

As a result, some citizens raised their voices against blaming solely based on movement paths, calling it a witch hunt. Office worker B (27) said, "Honestly, I have seen many harsh comments calling her a Zumba dance instructor and criticizing her severely," and added, "Isn't it too much to blindly curse before confirming she is not a super-spreader?" He further pointed out, "Honestly, in a situation where anyone could be infected, people who just curse confirmed patients look very pathetic."

On the other hand, some believe it was wrong to conduct group dance classes during the COVID-19 outbreak. Office worker C in his 30s said, "As far as I know, the religion of the 5th confirmed patient in Cheonan was a cult," and added, "Since many confirmed cases have occurred because of Shincheonji, and the entire nation is angry, shouldn't this be accepted?"

Another office worker D (29) pointed out, "It was also a problem that they exercised in a group without wearing masks during the COVID-19 outbreak."

Some criticism has emerged that the 5th confirmed patient in Cheonan has put all Cheonan citizens at risk. Petitions titled "Protect Cheonan citizens from COVID-19" and "Help Cheonan" have also been posted on the public petition board.

Meanwhile, according to the "COVID-19 Cheonan City Confirmed Patient Relationship Chart" released by Cheonan City, the 5th confirmed patient, Zumba dance instructor A, developed symptoms on the 20th of last month and was finally confirmed positive on the 26th of the same month.

In particular, A was known to have contacted many students while working as a Zumba dance instructor. More than 10 people who had contact with A were confirmed positive.

According to the epidemiological investigation results of Chungcheongnam-do, among the 80 confirmed cases in Chungnam as of the 2nd, 71 were related to Zumba classes, including 4 Zumba instructors including A, 44 students, and 23 family members and acquaintances, accounting for 88.1% of the total infections.

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