Daegu City to Pursue Civil Lawsuit Against Shincheonji... "Under Review" (Update)

Daegu City Files Lawsuit for Damages and Subrogation Claims Against Shincheonji
Lee Man-hee, Shincheonji Chairman, and Daegu Dadaeoh Branch Executives May Be Included as Defendants

On February 19th, a health center official from Nam-gu Office in Daegu is conducting disinfection work near the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony Daegu Church in Daemyeong-dong, Nam-gu, Daegu. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Juhyung Lim] Daegu City is reportedly planning to file a civil lawsuit against Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji) in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The defendants in the civil lawsuit are being considered to include Lee Man-hee, the chairman of Shincheonji. In particular, if the executives of the 'Dadaeoh faction,' to which the Shincheonji Daegu Church?where a mass infection occurred?belong, are found to have obstructed epidemiological investigations, they may also be included as defendants.

Additionally, Daegu City is reportedly considering filing the civil lawsuit before the police investigation results are announced. The lawsuit is planned to be filed at the Daegu District Court.

A Daegu City official told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "Nothing specific has been decided regarding the civil lawsuit; it is still under review."

He added, "The defendants are still under discussion. Since the situation is fluid, it is difficult to disclose specific details at this moment."

On the afternoon of March 14, when Shincheonji celebrated its 36th anniversary, a closure order issued by the head of the Daegu Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters was posted on the entrance door of the Shincheonji Daegu Church. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, Daegu reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on February 18, a 61-year-old individual referred to as A. Patient A, the 31st confirmed case in South Korea, had shown signs of pneumonia at a medical institution before being diagnosed but was confirmed to have visited a hotel in Dong-gu, Daegu, and the Shincheonji Daegu Church.

Notably, Patient A visited the Shincheonji Daegu Church on February 5, 9, and 16. Following a surge of mass infections centered around Shincheonji believers, the government conducted a full-scale investigation targeting the believers.

Daegu City conducted administrative investigations twice, on March 12 and 17, targeting the Shincheonji Daegu Church, securing church member lists and closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

Subsequently, Daegu City requested a police investigation, alleging that Shincheonji obstructed epidemiological investigations by omitting some church member lists and providing false statements.

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