청 "Thorough Investigation into Shincheonji's Legal Violations, Appropriate Punishment"

Cheong Wa Dae National Petition Response: "Deceiving Quarantine Authorities Is a Dangerous Act"... "Prosecution Investigates According to Law and Principles"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Blue House stated in response to public petitions related to Shincheonji that "deceiving quarantine authorities is a dangerous act" and that corresponding punishments will be enforced.

Jeong Dong-il, Secretary for Social Policy at the Blue House, responded on the 21st to two petitions titled 'Urging the Forced Dissolution of Shincheonji' and 'Urging the Immediate Arrest and Investigation of the Shincheonji Leader.'

The Blue House explained, "The petitioners expressed seriousness and concern over the rapid spread of COVID-19 caused by Shincheonji followers due to inappropriate missionary activities and social deception by the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, starting from February 23, urging strict measures and corresponding punishments," adding, "A total of 1,707,202 citizens participated in agreeing to the two petitions."

Seoul city officials are entering the sanctuary on the 17th to conduct an on-site administrative investigation of the Shincheonji Jesus Church Bartholomew Branch headquarters located in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Secretary Jeong explained, "Local governments such as Seoul, Daegu, and Gyeonggi Province, which discovered delays in submitting follower lists by Shincheonji, intentional omissions, and entry into closed Shincheonji facilities that obstructed quarantine activities, have reported Shincheonji and violating followers to investigative agencies for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. The reported cases are currently being investigated by the prosecution and police according to law and principles."

In particular, Secretary Jeong emphasized, "Acts that obstruct measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases or deceive quarantine authorities put our society at great risk and threaten the lives and health of the people. Recognizing the gravity of the matter, a thorough investigation will be conducted to determine whether related laws were violated, and corresponding punishments will be enforced."

Secretary Jeong added, "On March 26, Seoul City revoked the establishment permit of the Shincheonji corporation based on the obstruction of COVID-19 quarantine and prevention activities and infringement on public safety."

Meanwhile, the Blue House stated, "Using data held by the National Health Insurance Service and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, a full inspection was conducted on 3,748 high-risk occupation workers and employees of multi-use facilities by cross-referencing occupational information with the list of Shincheonji followers and trainees."

The Blue House added, "Among the followers and trainees, 4,613 were confirmed positive, with 4,544 cases, accounting for 98.5% of Shincheonji confirmed cases, occurring in Daegu and the Gyeongbuk region. Additionally, 599 people were found to be infected through contact with Shincheonji followers and trainees, although they themselves were not followers or trainees."

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