"Why Hold Worship Amid This..." Residents Near Seongnam's 'Eunhyeui Gang Church' Express Outrage

Notices of 'Temporary Closure' Flood Surrounding Shopping Districts

A view of Eunhyeui River Church in Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. As of the morning of the 16th, there have been 46 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) related to this church, marking the second largest cluster infection in the Seoul metropolitan area after the Guro Call Center in Seoul. Photo by Lee Gwan-ju

[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] "The neighborhood is in complete chaos. I don't understand why they did something they were told not to do and caused this mess."

On the afternoon of the 16th, residents wearing masks were gathered in small groups around Eunhyeui Gang Church in Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. Residents waiting for the bus at the bus stop right in front of the church could not hide their anxiety, saying, "It must be this church."

The church is located in a four-story brown building next to Sanseong-daero, an eight-lane road. The church shares 100㎡ spaces on the 3rd and 4th floors with an academy. On the first floor, there are other shops such as an optician, a jewelry store, and a caf?, and there are two daycare centers nearby.

Due to the occurrence of COVID-19 confirmed cases, several nearby shops had already closed. A nearby restaurant, along with the caf?, posted a notice on the glass door stating, "Temporarily closed for safety until the confirmed patient's movement path is announced." Merchants who opened for their livelihood were equally anxious. One shop owner angrily said, "A usually quiet neighborhood has turned into chaos."

A notice of temporary closure is posted at the cafe located in the Eunhyeui Gang Church building. Photo by Lee Gwan-ju

Nearby residents were also visibly angry because residences such as villas and detached houses are densely packed right behind the church building. It was reported that despite continuous requests from the local governments of Gyeonggi Province and Seongnam City to refrain from and postpone religious gatherings, the church held services for two consecutive weeks on the 1st and 8th of this month.

A resident in their 50s said, "Not only on weekends but at least twenty people came and went even on weekdays," and clicked their tongue, saying, "People shouted not to hold services, but they went ahead anyway, and now this mess has happened." Another resident said, "I cannot understand holding services in the middle of this," adding, "I just hope no additional confirmed cases occur."

Meanwhile, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the 16th, 80.7% of domestic COVID-19 confirmed cases nationwide were related to cluster outbreaks. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases related to Eunhyeui Gang Church reached 46 as of the morning of the same day. It is the second-largest cluster infection in the metropolitan area after the Seoul Guro Call Center (129 cases).

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