Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop Faces 'Critical Week'... "Please Replace Group Worship with Home Worship"

On the afternoon of the 6th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, held an emergency meeting on COVID-19 response with the Christian Council at the reception room on the 3rd floor of the city hall to discuss countermeasures. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] On the afternoon of the 6th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, held an emergency meeting with the Gwangju Christian Council in the city hall reception room to discuss countermeasures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the local community.

The meeting was attended by Mayor Lee Yong-seop, Lee Jong-gi, President of the Gwangju Christian Council, Lee Sang-bok, Senior Vice President, Han Sang-young, Secretary General, Kim Seung-won, Executive Director, Jo Kwang-soo, Welfare Director, and Joo Nam-sik, Executive Vice President.

Mayor Lee expressed his gratitude to the Christian Council for actively cooperating to prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially for their active participation in the “Gwangju Community Special Statement” announced on the 1st, which allowed mild COVID-19 patients from Daegu to be isolated and treated in Gwangju based on the spirit of sharing and solidarity of Gwangju.

The mayor asserted, “Since this COVID-19 crisis is at the level of a national disaster, it is time to put all our efforts together and unite the strength of the Gwangju community. Above all, nothing is more important to me as mayor than the lives and safety of Gwangju citizens.”

He continued, “The government has earnestly requested that people refrain from group events or actions that could harm others, such as crowded events in narrow and enclosed spaces, not only indoors but also outdoors. Since this week is expected to be a critical turning point, I ask for cooperation to refrain from all events including collective worship services and to replace them with other methods.”

He also requested, “Since this week is expected to be a critical turning point, I ask for cooperation to refrain from all events including collective worship services and to replace them with other methods.”

He repeatedly urged, “I ask for the cooperation of all leaders to guide each church to shift from collective worship services to home worship services through broadcasting, the internet, and other means.”

He added, “Gwangju is a region with the resilience to turn crises into new opportunities at every critical moment in history. I earnestly ask for the understanding and participation of the Christian denominations and Gwangju city so that we can overcome COVID-19 without any loss of citizens’ lives.”

In response, the Christian Council said, “We are continuously requesting each church to change the worship methods,” and “We agree that no more confirmed cases should occur in Gwangju and will actively support the city’s countermeasure efforts.”

Meanwhile, Gwangju city sent a cooperation letter in the name of Mayor Lee Yong-seop to about 1,500 churches in the area on the same day, requesting that collective worship services be replaced with home worship services.

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