Sarangjeil Church: "Jeon Gwang-hoon Is Not Subject to Self-Quarantine... Will Sue Director Park Neung-hoo"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Sarang Jeil Church issued a statement on the 17th, refuting the claims made by the quarantine authorities.

On the same day, Sarang Jeil Church held a press conference in front of the church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, stating, "Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon is not subject to self-quarantine, and even if he were assumed to be, there is no fact that he violated the self-quarantine obligation."

They emphasized, "Acting Mayor of Seoul Seo Jeong-hyeop and Park Neung-hoo, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH), should disclose the grounds and evidence held for judging Pastor Jeon as a subject of forced self-quarantine."

They added, "It is not the case that one becomes a self-quarantine subject just because the quarantine authorities arbitrarily notify them as such without any grounds."

They explained, "Whether the self-quarantine obligation was violated is only applicable from the time the person concerned is notified by the authorities that they are subject to self-quarantine and is aware of it. Pastor Jeon has never received any such notification until now, and after finishing his speech at the Gwanghwamun rally on August 15, he returned home to rest and received a 'quarantine notice' around 6 p.m., which he signed."

Earlier, Seoul City and the CDSCH filed a complaint against Pastor Jeon the day before on charges of violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

According to the CDSCH, Pastor Jeon was ordered to self-quarantine by Seoul City at 2 p.m. on the 15th and was aware of it, but he attended the Gwanghwamun rally around 3:10 p.m. the same day, violating self-quarantine, and submitted an inaccurate church visitor list to Seoul City that omitted Pastor Jeon's name.

Meanwhile, at Sarang Jeil Church, the number of confirmed cases has rapidly increased centered on church members since the first confirmed case was reported on the 12th.

Regarding allegations of omitting and concealing the investigation target list and obstructing epidemiological investigations, they stated, "The authorities requested two documents by official letter: the entire church member list and the visitor list from August 7 to 12. We submitted all original copies of the actual guestbooks and all files transferred to electronic documents."

Sarang Jeil Church stated, "At a meeting between church staff and authorities the day before, it was agreed to discard what had already been submitted and to reorganize and submit the list centered on current church members as quickly as possible." They added, "We will file a lawsuit against Acting Mayor Seo Jeong-hyeop and Head Park Neung-hoo for defamation by spreading false information, as they must be fully aware of these circumstances."

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