Daegu District Court Finds All Shincheonji Daegu Church Officials 'Not Guilty' of Quarantine Obstruction Charges

Shincheonji Daegu Church "Sincerely Apologizes for the Pain and Wounds Caused by COVID-19"

The photo shows Lee Man-hee, the chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), attending a trial held on the afternoon of November 18 last year at the Suwon District Court in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] All Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony Daegu Church officials indicted for obstructing the epidemiological investigation of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) (violations of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act and obstruction of official duties by deception, etc.) were acquitted.

This is the second time that a Shincheonji official prosecuted for obstructing an epidemiological investigation has been acquitted, following Chairman Lee Man-hee (Suwon District Court).

The Criminal Division 11 of Daegu District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Sang-yoon) on the 3rd acquitted all eight defendants, including Daegu Church branch leader Mr. A, in the sentencing trial.

The court stated, "Requesting the submission of the entire list of church members was not an epidemiological investigation as defined by the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act and its enforcement decree, but rather a preliminary preparation stage for the epidemiological investigation, so submitting the omitted list cannot be punished as a violation of the law."

Furthermore, the court said, "Since requesting the entire list was a preliminary preparation stage for quarantine and not the quarantine itself, simply not responding to the information provision request cannot be regarded as official duty obstruction," and acquitted the defendants of the charge of obstruction of official duties by deception.

In this regard, Shincheonji Daegu Church stated in a press release, "We respect the court's decision, and at the same time, we sincerely apologize and wish to comfort the local citizens who have suffered pain and wounds from COVID-19."

They continued, "Although a large-scale outbreak occurred from February 18, 2020, for about a month and a half, the confirmed cases stopped as of April 2, 2020, and we have maintained zero confirmed cases to date," adding, "All of this is the result of the dedicated cooperation of quarantine authorities, medical staff, and citizens."

Shincheonji Daegu Church said, "Through three rounds of collective plasma donations, a total of 3,741 believers participated, learning that the power to overcome COVID-19 lies in tolerance, love, and unity," and promised, "Regardless of the sentencing result, we will approach COVID-19 infection with a responsible attitude and become a church that contributes to ending COVID-19 and serves society."

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