Gyeonggi-do Issues Administrative Order Restricting Gatherings at 20 Churches

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (third from the left) is discussing current issues such as collective worship during a meeting with religious leaders in the province.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has issued an 'assembly restriction' administrative order to 20 churches in the province. These churches must follow eight infection prevention rules when holding assembly worship services. Violations will result in prosecution, and claims for damages will also be pursued.

On the 2nd, Gyeonggi Province announced that it had issued an 'Infectious Disease Prevention Rules Compliance and Assembly Restriction Administrative Order' against 20 churches that intentionally obstructed public officials from entering the churches to check compliance with the 'Novel Coronavirus Infection' (COVID-19) prevention rules or did not follow the prevention rules.

Earlier, on the 29th of last month, the province formed an inspection team of 5,248 provincial and city/county officials and conducted a full survey of 10,655 churches in the province. The survey found that 4,122 churches held assembly worship services, while the remaining 6,633 churches conducted video worship services.

When the province checked compliance with prevention rules among these assembly worship churches, it detected 34 violations in 28 churches, including failure to check symptoms (6), not wearing masks (7), failure to maintain a 2-meter distance (2), no disinfection (4), providing meals (13), and failure to prepare attendance lists (2). Notably, 13 churches obstructed public officials' on-site investigations and blocked entry to the churches.

Accordingly, among the 41 churches that violated prevention rules, the province excluded 21 churches that committed minor violations but had complete recurrence prevention measures and issued the 'Infectious Disease Prevention Rules Compliance and Assembly Restriction Administrative Order' to the remaining 20 churches, requiring compliance with prevention rules and cooperation with public officials by the 12th of this month.

These 20 churches must henceforth comply with eight prevention rules: ▲checking for symptoms such as fever, cough, and sore throat before entering the church ▲wearing masks when entering the church and during worship ▲providing and using hand sanitizers inside the church ▲maintaining a distance of at least 2 meters between worshippers ▲disinfecting the inside and outside of the church before and after worship ▲prohibiting meal provision during assembly worship ▲preparing attendance lists for assembly worship participants ▲immediate dismissal of symptomatic staff such as those with fever.

Violations of the administrative order will result in assembly bans and prosecution (fines up to 3 million KRW) under the Infectious Disease Prevention Act. Additionally, if confirmed cases occur due to violations, claims for all related quarantine costs such as investigation, testing, and treatment will be pursued.

A provincial official strongly warned, "While freedom of religion is recognized, measures for quarantine are unavoidable at this time. Especially, acts that intentionally obstruct public officials' duties to maintain social order on behalf of the residents will inevitably face administrative sanctions."

He added, "The investigation showed that only about 0.4% of all churches violated prevention rules, so from this week, the full survey of churches will be suspended. Going forward, only occasional checks on compliance with prevention rules will be conducted."

Meanwhile, the province decided to continue the closure of 427 Shincheonji facilities and the assembly ban orders in the province. The province explained that this decision was based on the judgment that Shincheonji still does not sincerely comply with quarantine measures.

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