Songpa-gu Reports 5 Churches Violating Gathering Ban Orders
On-site Worship Enforcement, Mask Non-compliance, and Other Quarantine Rule Violations Reported to Songpa Police Station on the 7th: "Will Seek Compensation Claims if Confirmed Cases Occur"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) has taken strong action by filing charges on the 7th against local churches that violated quarantine guidelines, including forcibly holding on-site worship services.
Following special inspections of 514 churches on September 20 and 27, the district issued a gathering ban order on the 29th against five churches that failed to comply with quarantine guidelines such as the principle of non-face-to-face worship.
However, despite the gathering ban order, one church forcibly held an on-site worship service on the 4th, and in accordance with Article 80 of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act, the church was reported to the Songpa Police Station.
The church, located in Macheon-dong with about 90 congregants, was found to have violated the gathering ban order and failed to follow quarantine guidelines such as not wearing masks.
Currently, some relaxed worship standards have been applied to churches in the metropolitan area since the 20th of last month, but non-face-to-face worship remains the principle.
Accordingly, the district explained that even though no COVID-19 cases have occurred at the church, it judged that the gathering ban order was deliberately violated and proceeded with the charges as a preemptive measure to prevent infectious diseases.
If confirmed cases occur at the church in the future, the district plans to hold the church strictly accountable by claiming compensation and closing the facility.
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Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “The majority of religious facilities are actively cooperating with quarantine activities despite great inconvenience and difficulties due to COVID-19,” and added, “To ensure that their efforts are not in vain, we will continue to respond strongly to facilities, including religious ones, that violate quarantine guidelines to protect the safety of our residents.”
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