Jung Eun-kyung: "'All Sarang Jeil Church Members Tested Positive' Is Fake News"

Jung Eun-kyung, Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), is holding a regular briefing on the domestic occurrence status of COVID-19 and the interim investigation results of confirmed patients on the afternoon of the 17th at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in Cheongju, Chungbuk.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, refuted the rumor that "all members of Sarang Jeil Church are unconditionally confirmed as COVID-19 patients" as fake news and stated that it is absolutely not true.

On the 17th, during a briefing on COVID-19 response, Director Jung said, "There is a lot of fake news spreading that 'if the health authorities test, everyone will come out positive,'" and dismissed it by saying, "This is absolutely not true, and the test results from the health authorities cannot be manipulated, nor is there any reason to do so."

She added, "If diagnosis and treatment are delayed, the lives of the church members are at risk, and even their closest loved ones can be endangered," urging, "Please trust the health authorities, get tested promptly, and strictly observe self-quarantine."

Recently, as confirmed cases related to Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul have surged, the health authorities are requesting all church members to get tested quickly regardless of symptoms. However, some members have refused the testing request, and rumors that "all Sarang Jeil Church members are unconditionally confirmed positive" are rapidly spreading.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church is speaking at a rally condemning the government and ruling party held in front of Donghwa Duty Free Shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

As of noon that day, the number of confirmed cases related to Sarang Jeil Church had increased to 315. Among the approximately 4,000 church members and visitors whose names were submitted by the church, about 2,000 had been tested as of midnight the previous day.

The health authorities are checking whether any confirmed cases among Sarang Jeil Church members attended the Gwanghwamun rally in Seoul on the 15th. Since there are significant concerns that mask-wearing and social distancing were not properly observed at the rally, this measure is based on the judgment that there is a possibility of widespread COVID-19 transmission due to infected individuals.

Director Jung explained, "We are confirming attendance at the rally through confirmed case investigations and the location information system (GPS), but it will not be easy to identify the entire attendance list." She added, "If it is judged that the risk of COVID-19 exposure at the rally was high, we will expand the scope of testing by recommending diagnostic tests for all attendees."

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