Lee Jae-myung: "If Assembly and Worship Guidelines Are Not Followed, Restriction Orders Will Be Enforced"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, has decided to temporarily suspend the full ban on religious gatherings and worship services that was being promoted to block the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). However, he announced that administrative orders will be issued to restrict religious gatherings if certain standards, such as maintaining a distance of more than 2 meters during worship, are not followed.

On the 11th, at an emergency briefing held in the briefing room of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government in Suwon to explain the results of a meeting with religious leaders, Governor Lee said, "First of all, I would like to thank the churches for their best efforts to prevent the spread of infection, and we had many discussions on that point." He added, "However, everyone agreed that the most important thing is to find reasonable measures to prevent infection and spread, rather than imposing regulations."

He continued, "Instead of a complete ban on religious events, if there are other reasonable methods, we agreed that those methods can be fully considered." He explained, "To prevent the spread of infection, if group events are held, participants will undergo fever checks, hand sanitization, wear masks, maintain a distance of more than 2 meters during gatherings, and disinfect facilities used before and after the event. We mutually agreed to hold gatherings only after these preliminary measures are taken."

Governor Lee particularly added, "By this week, we will request cooperation from all religious facilities based on the revised guidelines, and by this weekend, we will monitor the progress. For churches or religious facilities that do not properly meet these conditions, we also mutually agreed on administrative measures to restrict gatherings."

He further stated, "Gyeonggi Province must always prepare for the worst-case scenario and, as the administrative authority ultimately responsible, I explained that for the minority who do not comply, administrative orders will ultimately have to be issued." He emphasized again, "If the guidelines are not followed, restrictions on gatherings will be imposed only on those places that fail to comply, rather than a full ban on gatherings, requiring them to meet these conditions to hold events."

However, Governor Lee added, "If churches holding worship services request necessary supplies such as quarantine materials, disinfection, or thermometers, administrative support will not be spared."

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