42 Churches in Busan Proceed with In-Person Worship... "Are We a Communist Society?"

Boogichong President Pastor Lim Young-moon, "Churches Also Recognize Social Responsibility, Do Not Infringe on Religious Freedom"
Busan City Reports 8 Out of 42 Locations Violated Assembly Restriction Orders Once... "We Will File Charges"

On the 23rd, Lim Young-moon, the representative pastor of the Busan Christian Council, announced the position regarding on-site worship at a church in Busanjin-gu, Busan. Despite Busan City's prohibition of in-person worship services at local churches due to the Level 2 social distancing measures, some churches proceeded with on-site worship. [Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] On the 30th, 42 churches affiliated with the Busan Christian Council, which are protesting the government's ban on in-person worship services as an infringement on religious freedom, went ahead with in-person worship services.

Busan City announced that, as a result of a joint on-site inspection of all 1,765 churches in Busan by district/county offices and the police on the same day, it was confirmed that in-person worship services were conducted at 42 churches.

Among the 42 churches that went ahead with in-person worship services that day, eight had previously received assembly restriction orders for violating gathering bans at least once. The city plans to file charges against them for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

Despite Busan City's 'assembly ban administrative order,' Lim Young-moon, president of the Busan Christian Council (Bugichong), who led the in-person worship services that day, said, "The Republic of Korea has religious freedom. The extralegal government is doing what is done in communist societies. The government should promote harmony with the people and churches, not sow discord," expressing opposition to the government's ban on in-person worship services.

President Lim criticized government policies after finishing the morning worship service in front of a church in Busanjin-gu where he serves as a pastor that morning.

The worship service, which started at 9:30 a.m. at this church, continued until 10:30 a.m. About 30 believers reportedly attended the service.

Lim said, "The church also has social responsibility. If we act according to the truth during the COVID-19 situation, we can rest from worship services as much as we want. However, this government is extralegal. The legislative, judicial, and executive branches have all collapsed. The constitution guarantees religious freedom. The president must uphold this."

Lim added, "We are strictly following quarantine rules during worship. There are CCTVs, and all records are kept," and said, "When you go to the city or district offices, how many people wear masks in enclosed spaces? It's very unfair."

He also compared with Buddhism and Catholicism, saying, "The church does nothing. We don't eat meals together, and we don't hold small group meetings. We follow the rules well, so we should be encouraged, not disparaged or divided."

Regarding criticism about the spread of COVID-19 in churches, he expressed resentment toward interference with church autonomous worship, saying, "Looking only at Busan, there has been no church with confirmed cases since Oncheon Church," and asked, "Why are they ordering shutdowns?"

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