Police Conduct Search and Seizure at Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon's Residence of Sarang Jeil Church (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] On the 2nd, the police conducted a search and seizure at the residence of Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church and other related locations.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit secured materials related to obstruction of quarantine measures at four church-related facilities, including Pastor Jeon's residence in Jangwi-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, around 4:30 p.m. that day. Pastor Jeon was discharged after completing isolation treatment for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the same day.

Pastor Jeon is accused of obstructing epidemiological investigations by submitting a partially omitted and concealed list of congregants and other investigation targets following the Sarang Jeil Church cluster infection outbreak, violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. He is also charged with violating self-quarantine orders by participating in the Liberation Day rally in downtown Seoul.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the Seoul Metropolitan Government filed complaints against Pastor Jeon and Sarang Jeil Church officials with the police on the 16th of last month. Pastor Jeon was confirmed positive for COVID-19 the following day, the 17th, and was transferred to Seoul Medical Center.

Earlier, on the 21st of last month, the police conducted a search and seizure at Sarang Jeil Church for 4 hours and 20 minutes to obtain an accurate list of congregants. The police have been conducting digital forensic work on congregant-related data stored on PCs within the church.

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