President Moon, in Effect, Rejects 'Quarantine Church Certification System'

Church Proposes "Worship Allowed for Churches with Good Quarantine Measures"
Moon Repeatedly Urges "It's Realistically Difficult... Please Cooperate"

President Moon Jae-in is speaking at a meeting with leaders of the Korean Protestant Church held at the Blue House main building on the 27th.
President Moon urged the church to actively cooperate with the government's quarantine efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

President Moon Jae-in expressed practical rejection of the 'Church Certification System for Quarantine (tentative name)' proposed by Korean church leaders on the 27th amid the resurgence of infectious diseases, stating that "introducing a church certification system is realistically very difficult." However, he evaluated the 'government-church consultative body' proposed by the church side as "a very good plan."

At the morning meeting on the 27th at the Blue House, held with the President and Korean church leaders, Kim Tae-young, co-chairman of the Korea Christian Federation and representative of the church side, proposed a church certification system that allows worship services only for churches that are well-managed in terms of quarantine. He said that religious freedom is a value that cannot be exchanged even for life and that he would actively cooperate with the government's quarantine efforts, but also stated, "We cannot give up protecting worship, which is the essence of the church."

Despite the strong will of the church, President Moon made it clear that there can be no exceptions in quarantine measures.

President Moon said, "I understand how important worship is to the Christian community; it is almost the core and like life itself," but added, "However, the reality is that a significant number of COVID-19 cases are occurring in churches."

He emphasized, "The acts of expressing faith and worship should be protected by the state as much as possible," but also said, "In unavoidable cases, regulations can be imposed under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, and church leaders must acknowledge these objective circumstances."

This indicates that it is difficult to accept the church community's request to introduce a 'church certification system' and allow worship only in certified churches.

President Moon pointed out that there are about 60,000 churches in South Korea, each with different worship styles, and said, "I understand the regret about applying uniform measures without distinguishing the good from the bad, but please accept that part."

He diagnosed the current situation as "the most critical moment" and expressed concern, saying, "If we fail to overcome this hurdle and move to social distancing level 3, not only churches but the entire country of South Korea will almost have to come to a halt."

He continued, "The damage to people's lives would be indescribable," and said, "The best way is to stop the spread at this stage and stabilize it as soon as possible to return all our activities to normal." He repeatedly urged, "Please cooperate at least until the designated period."

Instead, President Moon actively agreed with the proposal for the government and churches to work together to prepare for and respond to the new normal era of infectious disease quarantine.

He said, "It would be good to have closer consultations between the government and churches," and responded positively to the consultative body proposed by Chairman Kim, calling it "a very good plan." President Moon also suggested, "I think not only Christianity but also various religions can participate together," and added, "It would be great if that part could definitely be reflected."

President Moon Jae-in is greeting attendees as he participates in a meeting with leaders of the Korean Protestant Church held at the main building of the Blue House on the 27th.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Chairman Kim proposed the 'Church Quarantine Certification System,' saying, "The Christian Federation, Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, and local governments can create a consultative body, and we can consider a system that gives quarantine certification marks to churches that manage quarantine well." He explained, "Certified churches can hold on-site worship services according to quarantine figures, and when certain thresholds are exceeded and the spread phase occurs, there will be clear accountability and measures to restrain."

Kim also proposed a flexible application of gathering numbers based on the seating capacity of each church. He explained, "I believe that a certain number of people per unit area of the church, with social distancing and mask-wearing, is safe," and added, "For small churches with 40 or 50 people gathering, instead of trying to hold worship all at once, if one service is held twice, or two services are held three times, social distancing will be more effective."

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