[Q&A] "Churches Violating Administrative Orders May Be Held Liable for COVID-19 Cases"

The Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, where Jeon Gwang-hoon, the chairman of the Korea Christian Federation, serves as the senior pastor, is holding an Easter on-site service on the 12th while restricting access to outsiders. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The government emphasized that if COVID-19 patients emerge from churches that have been administratively sanctioned for not complying with COVID-19 prevention guidelines and continue to hold on-site worship services, it is possible to claim compensation. With Easter approaching, on-site worship services have increased nationwide, and the government is concerned about the spread of infectious diseases as a result.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters’ Prevention Division, said at a briefing on the 12th, "An administrative order has been issued in the name of the Minister of Health and Welfare for religious facilities," adding, "Local governments conduct on-site inspections, and if worship services are held without sufficient preventive measures, administrative instructions are issued, and if not complied with, fines are imposed through administrative orders."

He continued, "Fines are imposed for violations of administrative orders, and if confirmed cases occur, it is possible to claim compensation," emphasizing, "If preventive measures are not sufficiently implemented, corresponding penalties will follow."

Park Neung-hoo, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), is speaking at a briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 12th.

The following is a Q&A from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters briefing on the same day with First Deputy Park Neung-hoo (Minister of Health and Welfare) and others.

- What is the basis for the decision to conduct comprehensive testing of arrivals from the United States?

▲ (Park Neung-hoo) We have been investigating infection cases and rates among arrivals from the United States daily. The incidence rate has appeared as high as in Europe. (Yoon Tae-ho) Local governments are already conducting comprehensive testing for all arrivals from the United States. Until now, this has been funded by local governments rather than the national government, which has caused delays as many tests were requested through public health and environment research institutes. With full national funding this time, private companies will be able to conduct tests, enabling faster results.

- Regarding the timing of the transition to daily preventive measures, there seem to be differing views within government departments.

▲ The government considers that if the number of new daily confirmed cases is within 50 and the proportion of new cases with unknown infection routes is below 5%, these two conditions being met simultaneously satisfies one condition for implementing a new prevention system. However, meeting these two conditions does not mean that the enhanced social distancing can immediately be replaced by another prevention system. Other factors such as social acceptance and public sentiment must also be considered. Although enhanced distancing is scheduled until the 19th, it cannot be concluded that the prevention system will immediately switch afterward.

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