Citizens Worried About Shincheonji's 100,000-Person Event... First Time in 20 Years

Daegu Stadium, where a religious event attracting 100,000 people is held.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Ju Cheolin] Daegu City has permitted the rental of Daegu Stadium for a large-scale religious event attended by over 100,000 people, causing concern among Daegu citizens.

According to Daegu City and the police on the 18th, a religious gathering of about 100,000 Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji) believers is scheduled to be held at Daegu Stadium in Suseong-gu, Daegu, from noon to 3:30 PM on the 20th.

This is the first time a Shincheonji completion ceremony is held in Daegu. They plan to rent about 2,500 buses with 45 seats each and enter the main stadium and auxiliary stadium separately.

It is the first time in 20 years that a crowd of 100,000 gathers at Daegu Stadium, which was built ahead of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup soccer tournament, and this fact has sparked sharp reactions from citizens.

In particular, there is strong criticism toward Daegu City for permitting the rental. There are concerns about safety accidents similar to the Itaewon tragedy. One citizen said, “I don’t understand why Daegu City rented out Daegu Stadium,” and raised their voice asking, “Have safety measures been established?”

The Daegu City Council also held an emergency meeting to intensely question senior officials related to Daegu City Hall about the reasons for granting the rental permission for Daegu Stadium.

City Council member Jeong Ilgyun said, “I am curious whether there are safety measures. Instead of the Daegu City Urban Management Headquarters, which manages the stadium, handling the issue internally, the city should thoroughly review the event after sufficient consultation at the city level.”

City Council member Ha Jung-hwan also said, “It is hard to accept the approval of Daegu Stadium rental while 461 small business owners in Daegu, who suffered damages related to COVID-19 from a specific religious group, are still in trial,” urging a reconsideration of the approval.

City Council member Kim Tae-woo also stated, “There are regulations that would not allow the use when a request for Daegu Stadium rental is made,” and hoped, “Please consider all Daegu citizens and the image of Daegu City.”

In response, Daegu City stated, “There is no regulation that prohibits approval unless it is a political rally when a rental application for Daegu Stadium is submitted,” and “We approved it after receiving the rental fee according to relevant regulations.”

A city official said, “At this point, three days before the event, it seems too late to cancel the event. To prepare safety measures, city hall, police, and district offices have held six meetings so far.”

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