[These Days] Virus, Sincheonji, and the General Election

Lee Man-hee, the Chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), is speaking at a press conference related to the COVID-19 situation held on the 2nd at the Shincheonji Peace Palace in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has pointed to the 'Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji)' as the main culprit, many citizens are demanding the disbandment of Shincheonji and punishment for those involved. This is a public judgment on so-called 'pseudo-religions.'

What exactly is a 'pseudo-religion (似而非 宗敎, false religion)'? According to Article 20 of the Korean Constitution, all citizens enjoy religious freedom. The exception to this religious freedom is precisely pseudo-religions. The dictionary meaning of 'pseudo-religion' is 'false religion.'

According to Naver Knowledge Encyclopedia, it refers to organizations or groups that disguise themselves as religions on the surface but fail to constitute the basic requirements of religion (founder, doctrine, followers) and pursue non-religious purposes. In other words, they claim the religious essence as the center of their lives but in reality do not pursue the religious essence. They are sometimes problematic due to causing social disturbances or legal issues.

Why is Shincheonji rejected as a pseudo-religion? The interpretation of doctrine is left to experts. However, there is enough ground to judge based solely on the social disturbances they have caused.

The conflict between the domestic Protestant community and Shincheonji is widely known. Shincheonji was founded in the early 1980s by Chairman Lee Man-hee, but faced a crisis when it was cracked down on during the early Chun Doo-hwan regime's campaign to cleanse pseudo-religions and was forced to close. However, Shincheonji maintained its existence and expanded its influence by poaching followers from other Protestant churches or even taking over those churches.

A notice saying 'Shincheonji Entry Prohibited' attached to a pillar at the entrance of a cathedral.
Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Protestant community's claims, Shincheonji infiltrates existing Protestant churches with followers called 'harvesters.' Then, they expose the pastor's or church's corruption, publicize it, drive out the pastor, and take over the church. For these reasons, Protestant churches reportedly post signs at their entrances or lobbies saying 'No Entry for Shincheonji.'

For people without religion, these issues are often dismissed as inter-religious conflicts. However, regarding the recent COVID-19 outbreak, everyone, religious or not, agrees that Shincheonji caused a significant social disturbance.

Shincheonji's actions such as deleting parts of the follower list, failing to report gathering places, and systematic concealment played a decisive role in the spread of COVID-19 and deserve criticism. They concealed their identities and only revealed their Shincheonji membership after testing positive, which delayed tracing their movements and identifying contacts.

The government had to additionally trace the movements of contacts, track infected individuals among them, and trace infection routes, organizing the largest supplementary budget in history to respond comprehensively. Their actions to hide their mistakes resulted in a flawed response to the infectious disease and caused a national crisis.

However, it seems somewhat questionable to place all the blame solely on Shincheonji. While I do not intend to defend Shincheonji, the attacks against them appear unusually blatant. Why is that? Could it be because of the upcoming general election? The economy has been devastated by the relentless power of COVID-19, and public sentiment is deteriorating rapidly.

On the 4th, soldiers moved to their assigned areas during a COVID-19 prevention disinfection operation conducted jointly by the Army 2nd Operations Command, the 50th Division, Gyeongbuk Province, and Gyeongsan City around Gyeongsan Station in Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongbuk.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The opposition party has been fiercely attacking the government and ruling party for not blocking Chinese entry early on, which they claim worsened the situation. If, as the opposition claims, Chinese entry had been blocked, could the spread of the disease have been prevented? Then what about Koreans returning from China who are not Chinese nationals? Should their entry have been blocked as well? Has the political sphere ever proposed alternatives to these issues?

Petitioning for the president's impeachment at this time on the grounds of 'failing to properly respond to COVID-19' may be a misguided approach. I have no intention of siding with the government or ruling party. It is clear that the initial response was inadequate.

The government and ruling party likely could not bear full responsibility for the infectious disease spread ahead of the general election. Fortunately for them, Shincheonji caused a major incident. Is that why Christian media are leading the charge in attacking Shincheonji?

However, public opinion is not positive toward the Christian community's seemingly opportunistic attacks on Shincheonji. While the entire nation is anxious to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Korea Church Media Association, representing conservative Protestantism, commented, "Shouldn't the operation of subways, buses, and taxis?which are incomparably more dangerous?be stopped rather than church services?"

Is there any difference between this organization's attitude toward COVID-19 and Shincheonji's? Now is the time for all citizens to work together toward the common goal of 'eradicating COVID-19.' Religious organizations should participate in suspending worship services, masses, and Buddhist ceremonies even if it causes financial losses. They should send offerings and donations to Daegu to comfort its citizens and provide medical volunteer services. Isn't virus eradication more important than churches or the general election right now?

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