Prime Minister Jeong: "Legal Action Against Sarang Jeil Church and Others Violating Quarantine Guidelines"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun (Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 23rd, "Strict legal measures such as assembly prohibition orders must follow against Seoul's Sarang Jeil Church and others that violated quarantine guidelines."

On the same day, Prime Minister Chung held a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19 response at the Government Seoul Office and said, "Since midnight yesterday, we have issued administrative orders and are practicing high-intensity social distancing with extraordinary determination," adding, "This is an unavoidable measure to decisively curb the spread of COVID-19 before the school semester begins."

Prime Minister Chung said, "Despite the difficulties and hardships, most citizens understand the purpose and are voluntarily participating. I deeply thank religious leaders and believers who have actively cooperated," but criticized, "Unfortunately, there were cases where assemblies were forcibly held without properly following quarantine guidelines."

He continued, "This is an act that seriously threatens the safety of not only the individuals attending the gatherings but our entire community," emphasizing, "We are currently in an emergency situation equivalent to wartime. Administrative orders should not be taken merely as threats."

Prime Minister Chung also said, "Yesterday, we reviewed the implementation status of the measures announced by the government to help small business owners struggling due to COVID-19," explaining, "Although applications have flooded in at once and there are difficulties such as manpower shortages on site, the actual support performance has been very low."

Furthermore, he urged, "Currently, local small business owners and micro-entrepreneurs are in a situation where they are struggling day by day," and requested, "I hope that not only the relevant ministries but also heads of local governments will take responsibility and demonstrate their capabilities so that government measures can be effective on the ground."

He added, "From now on, I will personally check the support status for small business owners every week and make the results public."

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