Sarangjeil Church to Hold 3rd Press Conference Today... Expected to Address Position on Search and Seizure

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The Sarang Jeil Church, where a cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred, is scheduled to hold its third press conference on the 23rd to announce its position regarding the police's search and seizure of the church.

The Sarang Jeil Church announced that it will hold a press conference in front of Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, starting at 2 p.m. on the same day.

The Emergency Response Committee for Participants of the August 15 Gwanghwamun Rally and the legal team of Sarang Jeil Church will hold a press conference titled "Church's Position on the Search and Seizure" in front of Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, starting at 2 p.m. on the same day.

At the press conference, the church plans to release a statement regarding the police's search and seizure. They will also announce plans to file complaints and lawsuits against health authorities and the media.

This will be their third press conference. Sarang Jeil Church previously held press conferences on the 17th and 21st, providing explanations regarding various controversies surrounding the church. At the second press conference on the 21st, a statement from Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, who was diagnosed positive and is currently hospitalized, was also read.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the statement, Pastor Jeon claimed, "Just before a large-scale virus infection occurred at Sarang Jeil Church, I received reports from about five informants that 'virus terrorism is sneaking into Sarang Jeil Church,'" reiterating the 'external virus terrorism theory.'

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit conducted a search and seizure of Sarang Jeil Church for about 4 hours and 20 minutes from 8:40 p.m. on the 21st until around 1 a.m. the previous day on suspicion of violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act. The police are currently analyzing the evidence secured through the search and seizure. They plan to analyze data related to church members stored on PCs inside the church through digital forensics and, if necessary, compare the lists submitted by the church with those identified through police analysis.

Meanwhile, as of noon the previous day, the cumulative number of confirmed cases related to Sarang Jeil Church increased to 796. Among them, 108 are secondary infections related to the church. The number of confirmed cases related to the Gwanghwamun rally on Liberation Day also rose to 104. As of midnight on the same day, the number of new COVID-19 cases was 397, bringing the total confirmed cases to 17,399.

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