Over 5,600 Daegu Shincheonji Members Released from Quarantine... Tension on the 14th, 'Shincheonji Foundation Day'

36th Anniversary of Shincheonji on the 14th... Concerns Over Worship and Gatherings
Earlier on the 12th, 5,647 Daegu Members Tested Negative and Were Released from Self-Quarantine
Daegu City Issues Administrative Order Prohibiting Gatherings and Assemblies of Released Daegu Members

On the morning of the 12th, the police controlled the site to conduct an administrative investigation at the Shincheonji Church (Daegu Church) located in Nam-gu, Daegu. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] The self-quarantine of over 5,600 members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji) in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has been lifted.

The Daegu city government has issued an administrative order prohibiting gatherings and assemblies for the time being, but there are concerns that believers may gather tomorrow (the 14th) for the Shincheonji founding anniversary.

Earlier on the 12th, Daegu city announced that the self-quarantine of a total of 5,467 Shincheonji members who tested negative in the COVID-19 diagnostic tests was lifted that day. As a result, more than half of the 10,437 Shincheonji members in Daegu, totaling 5,647 people, are now free to go out.

If the Shincheonji members whose self-quarantine has been lifted gather again and have frequent contact, there is a risk of further infection spread.

In particular, tension is rising as the 14th is known as the Shincheonji founding anniversary. It is reported that Shincheonji members have held large-scale worship services every year on the founding day.

In this regard, Daegu city recently extended the administrative order for two weeks to close related facilities to prevent Shincheonji from holding large-scale assemblies, and issued an administrative order prohibiting members whose quarantine has been lifted from gathering separately.

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin urged at a regular briefing held on the 10th, "Considering the tremendous suffering the local community is experiencing due to Shincheonji members, please actively cooperate with quarantine measures to prevent COVID-19 from spreading any further because of you."

Additionally, on the 12th, Daegu city mobilized police forces to conduct an administrative investigation of the Shincheonji Daegu church to identify the group route of Shincheonji members and investigate suspicions of concealment of member lists and facility-related data.

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