"Love Jeil Church Going All Out, Even Ready to Sue President Moon"

Intense Criticism: "Jeon Gwang-hoon and Rally Participants Insulted and Defamed"
Continued Non-Cooperation with Quarantine... Two-Thirds of 5,912 Congregants and Visitors Not Tested

On the 25th, Choi In-sik, Secretary General of the National Emergency Response Committee for the 815 Rally participants, and Lee Dong-ho, a committee member, held a press conference condemning the government in front of Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. They addressed President Moon Jae-in, saying, "Stop threatening the public under the pretext of quarantine." They also raised their voices, stating, "We hope the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency only speaks and acts to protect the health and lives of the people." / Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Despite the president's stern warning against 'obstruction of quarantine measures,' there has been no change in the reckless actions of the Sarang Jeil Church. The church has even expressed its intention to file a lawsuit against the president.

On the morning of the 28th, the 'August 15 Rally Participants National Emergency Response Committee' and the legal team of Sarang Jeil Church held a joint press conference, once again blaming the government for the responsibility of the COVID-19 cluster infections at the 'Gwanghwamun Rally on Liberation Day.' The legal team announced plans to launch a class-action lawsuit, claiming that President Moon Jae-in insulted and defamed Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon and the rally participants. They also plan to file a lawsuit alleging that the quarantine authorities indiscriminately collected location information from citizens who were present at the Gwanghwamun rally.

At a meeting with Korean church leaders the previous day, President Moon sharply criticized Sarang Jeil Church, saying, "At a specific church, the government’s quarantine policies were rejected and even obstructed, resulting in nearly 1,000 confirmed cases so far." He added, "They should apologize to the public, but instead, they are brazenly promoting conspiracy theories and continue to refuse cooperation with the government’s quarantine measures."

The quarantine non-cooperation by Sarang Jeil Church members and Gwanghwamun rally participants continues to this day. A man in his 60s, Mr. A, who tested positive for COVID-19, initially concealed his participation in the Gwanghwamun rally, but his attendance was later confirmed through an epidemiological investigation by quarantine authorities. This led to infections among 32 members and contacts of Seongnim Baptist Church in Gwangju. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit has booked Pastor A on suspicion of delaying COVID-19 testing for Sarang Jeil Church members. Pastor A is suspected of requesting a 70-year-old church member, who showed COVID-19 symptoms such as fever before the August 14 Liberation Day rally, to postpone testing until after the rally.

Additionally, in Daegu, police conducted a search and seizure of a church and its rally leader who did not cooperate with COVID-19 testing. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, as of the previous day, 5,912 Sarang Jeil Church members and visitors have been identified, but about 4,000 of them have yet to undergo COVID-19 testing. Amid this, when Sarang Jeil Church filed a complaint with the prosecution against Seoul Metropolitan Police Chief Jang Ha-yeon and others on the grounds that the police’s search and seizure on the 21st to obtain the church member list was 'illegal,' frontline police officers’ anger erupted. On social networking services (SNS) and internal police networks, posts such as "Seven fellow officers were infected due to the illegal rally. Obstruction of quarantine must be dealt with strictly," and "Sarang Jeil Church should be charged for medical expenses and damages," have been flooding in.

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