Lee Jae-myung Draws Sword Against Church Violating Quarantine Rules... Yongin A Church 'Reported'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, has finally taken strong action against a church that violated quarantine rules and obstructed official duties.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 9th that it filed a complaint against Pastor Lee and about 10 believers of Church A located in Sanghyeon-dong, Yongin City, for violating the "Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act" due to repeated violations of quarantine rules and obstruction of official duties.

Pastor Lee and the believers received an administrative order on the 29th of last month for failing to comply with infection prevention rules, but on the 5th, they allegedly violated the administrative order by blocking officials who tried to enter the church to check compliance with the order.

The province stated that during the on-site inspection of Church A around 10 a.m. on the 5th, officials were denied entry and were informed that failure to comply with infection prevention rules would result in a complaint. However, the church firmly refused entry and signing the confirmation, and related materials such as the on-site inspection confirmation and assembly restriction administrative order were submitted to the Yongin Western Police Station.

It was revealed that Church A violated five infection prevention rules during the Gyeonggi Province on-site inspection on the 29th of last month, including not wearing masks, not checking symptoms, not maintaining distancing, not disinfecting, and not preparing a list.

Earlier, on the 2nd, the province issued an "Assembly Restriction Administrative Order for Compliance with Infectious Disease Prevention Rules" to 20 churches in the province that did not follow infection prevention rules or obstructed officials' on-site investigations.

Church A is one of these 20 churches, and the province explained that the obstruction of official duties on the 5th was a clear violation of the administrative order.

According to the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, violating the assembly restriction administrative order may result in a fine of up to 3 million won.

Lee Sung-ho, Director of the Cultural Affairs Division of the province, said, "More than 99% of churches in Gyeonggi Province comply with infection prevention rules, so there were no problems with other churches, but this particular church uniquely did not follow the administrative order," adding, "We had no choice but to file a complaint because continued non-compliance could endanger the safety of residents."

On the 8th, Governor Lee Jae-myung posted on his social media (SNS) a message titled "Church obstructing quarantine. What should we do?" stating, "A church in Yongin repeatedly violates the rules and obstructs officials conducting on-site investigations under administrative orders, thereby obstructing official duties," and sought opinions from residents.

The majority of comments on the post responded, "While religious freedom is important, public safety must take precedence, so strict action should be taken against those who do not cooperate with or obstruct quarantine authorities."

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