Sarang Jeil Church Faces Greater Crisis Than Shincheonji... "Step 3 Unavoidable If Control Fails" (Update)

Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, is holding a regular briefing on the domestic COVID-19 outbreak status and interim investigation results of confirmed cases on the afternoon of the 18th at the Korea Disease Control Headquarters in Cheongju, Chungbuk.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases related to Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, has approached 460 in just six days. Health authorities emphasized that this week is a critical turning point in the widespread outbreak, calling it a greater crisis than the Shincheonji Jesus Church incident, where cases surged sharply in late February to early March.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) announced on the 18th at noon that the number of confirmed cases related to Sarang Jeil Church increased by 138 from the previous day, totaling 457.

Rapid increase in cases within six days... Secondary infections also spreading

Since the first confirmed case was reported on the 12th, the cumulative number of patients has rapidly increased: 5 on the 13th, 19 on the 14th, 59 on the 15th, 249 on the 16th, 319 on the 17th, and 457 on the 18th.

By region, confirmed cases are distributed as follows: 432 in the metropolitan area (Seoul 282, Gyeonggi 119, Incheon 31) and 25 in non-metropolitan areas (Chungnam 8, Gangwon 5, Gyeongbuk and Jeonbuk 4 each, Daegu and Daejeon 2 each).

Epidemiological investigations have confirmed several cases of secondary infections spreading from Sarang Jeil Church to other locations. Fifteen people were confirmed at Antioch Church in Nowon-gu, Seoul; seven at Lotte Home Shopping Media Seoul Center; four at Nonghyup Card Call Center; two at K-Kookmin Savings Bank Call Center; one at Saemaeum Nursing Hospital; and one at Amsa-dong Elderly Home Care Center.

As of midnight on the same day, among the 4,066 church members whose names have been secured by health authorities, 3,436 have been located. By region, the majority are in the metropolitan area: Seoul (1,971), Gyeonggi (890), and Incheon (132), but church members are distributed nationwide, including Gyeongbuk and Jeju.

On the 18th, as the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection related to Sarang Jeil Church increases, citizens are lining up to get tested at a temporary COVID-19 screening clinic set up at the Seongbuk-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

"A greater crisis than Shincheonji"... Why?

Sarang Jeil Church represents the second-largest cluster of COVID-19 infections in South Korea. Although the cumulative number of cases is still lower than the 5,214 infected in the Shincheonji cluster, Vice Head of CDSCH Kwon Jun-wook stated in a briefing that "currently, we consider this a much greater crisis than the Shincheonji outbreak in February and March."

He pointed out that "not only the large number of patients in the metropolitan area, especially in certain churches, but also the additional transmissions confirmed nationwide, the high number of elderly confirmed cases, and the fact that the outbreak started in the most populous metropolitan area make this situation very dangerous."

Another concern is that the current metropolitan outbreak is likely caused by the GH strain of the virus, which has higher transmissibility compared to the V strain seen in the Shincheonji cluster. According to genetic testing by health authorities, the Shincheonji cluster was of the V lineage, while most clusters emerging after the Itaewon club outbreak in May are of the GH lineage, which is known to be more contagious than the V lineage.

Additionally, despite nationwide awareness of preventive measures, risky behaviors that facilitate transmission have occurred, indicating a decline in vigilance and awareness. There is also concern about spread through unspecified large groups and the risk of nationwide dissemination via gatherings in metropolitan high-risk locations or residents from other regions, making this situation more worrisome than Shincheonji.

Vice Head Kwon said, "We are at a critical crossroads in COVID-19 prevention. If we fail to control and suppress the outbreak at this stage, escalation to social distancing level 3 is unavoidable." He urged strict adherence to preventive measures, warning that such escalation would severely disrupt individual activities and livelihoods, as well as cause significant social and economic problems nationwide.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is scheduled to announce strengthened COVID-19 prevention measures in a public address at 5 p.m. at the Government Seoul Office. The emergency Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister later that afternoon, is expected to discuss expanding regions subject to elevated social distancing and fully implementing the current level 2 distancing measures. Although distancing was raised to level 2 on the 16th, suspension of high-risk facility operations and bans on various gatherings and events remain recommendations; these are expected to be converted into mandatory measures.

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