"The Church Apologizes"... Busan Church Displays Banner

According to the religious community in Busan on the 25th, some churches in the Busan area have put up banners with the phrase "The church sincerely apologizes. The church will be more careful." Photo by Busan Seongsihwa Movement Headquarters

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] Protestant Christian churches, which have been pointed out as the epicenter of the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), appear to be expressing their apologies to the public and attempting to resolve social conflicts.

According to the religious community in Busan on the 25th, some local churches have put up banners with the phrase "The church sincerely apologizes. The church will be more cautious."

After the Busan Christian Council (Bugi-chong), a representative Protestant organization in Busan, announced its intention to hold in-person worship services last weekend despite Busan city's administrative orders, local churches have expressed concerns about Bugi-chong's stance and emphasized that their views differ from the executive committee. The Busan Holy City Movement Headquarters, a representative Christian action organization in Busan, is a prime example.

Park Nam-gyu, Planning Director of the Busan Holy City Movement Headquarters, stated, "Unlike the Catholic Church, there is no organization that represents all Korean churches with binding authority, so Bugi-chong cannot be seen as representing all churches. Therefore, most churches in the Busan area held non-face-to-face worship services last weekend."

He added, "Most churches take the lead in quarantine measures and support legitimate public authority; they never oppose it. Quarantine is not about faith or politics but science and medicine. Churches should not use faith to justify quarantine measures, and the government should not apply political landscapes or prejudices to quarantine."

The Busan Holy City Movement Headquarters is preparing a statement to comply with government policies without holding in-person worship services through this month.

The Busan Christian Church Council (NCCB) also stated, "If church gatherings are indeed the spark for the virus outbreak, churches must be humble and voluntarily take responsibility to resolve the situation. In the short term, gatherings should be avoided, and worship should be conducted at home in spirit and truth to consider the safety of ourselves and our neighbors."

According to Busan city, among the 1,765 churches in the Busan area as of the 23rd, 279 churches violated the administrative order banning in-person worship and held on-site services.

Busan city prohibited in-person worship services starting at midnight on the 21st as part of the social distancing level 2 measures. Additionally, on the 23rd, the city issued a ban on gatherings starting at midnight on the 26th for 106 churches that held in-person worship services with more than 10 people among the 279 churches that defied the order.

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