The Response to COVID-19 by the Korean Protestant Church and Shincheonji Church of Jesus
'(Source: Captured from Youtube 너알아TV)'
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea has been markedly different across various denominations. Following the first confirmed case of a Shincheonji Church congregant (nicknamed 'Patient 31' by the media) in Daegu on 18th February 2020, Shincheonji Church closed all 1100 churches and affiliated buildings nationwide with all indoor worship services and educational meetings banned and made online. Moreover, Chairman Lee held a press conference, expressing his regret at the resulting cluster outbreak in Daegu, and announced their full cooperation with health authorities. Even though 'patient 31' had been hospitalised and misdiagnosed with a common cold and sent back home on February 9th, and then unknowingly spread the virus at indoor church gatherings and worship services, Shincheonji Church became not only the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic but also the target of criticism. Health authorities quickly responded to the outbreak at Shincheonji Daegu Church to prevent a worst-case scenario; a step which has gained much recognition overseas.
One would, therefore, imagine that given the ease with which the virus spread indoors, other churches would learn and follow suit. However, the reality has been very different. In spite of the overall rise of confirmed cases nationwide following the outbreak in Shincheonji Church, many Protestant churches continued having in-person worship services and gatherings.
The second outbreak took place in Seoul on August 2nd 2020 at the Protestant Sarang Jeil ('Love First') Church which was in protest of government quarantine regulations that forbade church gatherings, arguing that such regulations violated religious freedoms and Biblical teachings. Various appeals were even made to the government. The lead pastor of Sarang Jeil Church, named Gwang-Hoon Jeon - who is also Chairman of the Christian Council of Korea (CCK) - led a church revival during the pandemic.
From July 27th to 29th 2020, 'Mr. A' attended a two-day 'Holy Spirit Explosion Conference' at Sarang Jeil Church where, as evidenced by a video uploaded on YouTube TV, the lead pastor openly rejects donning a mask and conducts a worship service with hundreds of people in attendance. At their daily 8:15am prayer meeting held before the Gwanghwamun assembly, believers gathered in an enclosed church to sing hymns for two hours, raising their hands and praying in voice. This was in violation of quarantine regulations.
The confirmed case in Sarang Jeil Church had a snowball effect. On the 13th August, ten days after their first confirmed case, another Sarang Jeil Church member tested positive for coronavirus, and within seven days or so, a further 200 related cases were confirmed in Seoul alone. Cases spread throughout Gyeonggi, Incheon and Chungnam provinces.
Despite the rapid rise in domestic cases, Pastor Jeon held a large-scale rally on August 15th to commemorate National Liberation Day of Korea, dismissing government orders as a "political act." Roughly 10,000 people flocked to the rally. Speaking at the rally, Pastor Jeon attributed the spread of COVID-19 in Sarang Jeil Church as "An invisible hand from the outside; broadly speaking, it could be an act perpetrated by North Korea." A petition urging Pastor Jeon to resign was posted via the Blue House National Petition, securing the support of more than 200,000 people. As seen below, pastor Jeon who tested positive for coronavirus, smilingly pulled his mask down when using his smartphone, before being taken into an ambulance.
Sarang Jeil Church is not the only Protestant church to defy government measures and continue to conduct face-to-face meetings and gathering on grounds of "violation of religious freedoms." From November to December 2020, there was an outbreak of more than 100 confirmed cases at Hongdae Sae Church in Mapo district, Seoul, and Seongseok Church in Gangseo district, Seoul.
Moreover, on December 20th 2020, Jin-Hong Kim, head of the Jinju International Prayer Center, held a Sunday worship service without a mask, opened his mouth wide and spoke for extended periods of time. With the pastor's prayer, sound of musical instruments and collective worship, one congregant took off his mask and approached fellow congregants. Children casually followed parents' example and even contracted the virus. Jinju International Prayer Center had held these prayer meetings dozens of times since September 2020.
Since April 2020, there has not been a single confirmed case involving a Shincheonji Church congregant. In spite of the callous scapegoating by Korean media outlets and politicians, Shincheonji Church did not express opposition to the police search-and-seizure, prosecution investigations or even the arrest of Chairman Lee and Shincheonji Church representatives.
In fact, congregants began donating their blood plasma, thinking about those who had been affected by COVID-19. To date, 3741 recovered members of Shincheonji Daegu Church have donated their blood plasma for the development of a blood treatment. Mr. Jun-wook Kwon, Deputy Head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), visited the site of the third round of plasma donation from November-December 2020 to express his gratitude to Shincheonji Church donors, saying, "This blood plasma donation by believers of Shincheonji Church, who have now recovered from COVID-19, will make an indelible contribution to overcoming this pandemic and, eventually, eradicate it. We hope that the voluntary and active example set by Shincheonji Church members today will serve as an example to all citizens".
As this article goes out, some Protestant churches continue to conduct face-to-face meetings despite the earnest appeals by society.
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Global Media Reports on Shincheonji Church's Blood Plasma Donations
Initial donation by 500 recovered Daegu congregants, July 2020 (video at the end)
Second donation by 1100 recovered Daegu congregants
Third donation by 4000 recovered Daegu congregants
From mid-2020, 231 reports published in 69 countries on intended 4000 donation
Shincheonji Church's official response to all allegations:-
“This is our earnest request: please stop the cursing and hatred towards Shincheonji. And we ask some media outlets that are slandering and suppressing Shincheonji using unconfirmed information and fake news to stop immediately.”
Official Statement by Shincheonji Church
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Further Global News Reports on Shincheonji Church (COVID-19)
Lies regarding the Coronavirus about Shincheonji 신천지 (03/03/2020)
Quarantine Official: "Confirmed case of COVID-19 in Daegu had existed before ‘patient 31’" (Daum News 22/03/2020)
Quarantine Official: "Confirmed case of COVID-19 in Daegu had existed before ‘patient 31’" (Naver 22/03/2020)
Shincheonji Church of Jesus in S. Korea Responds To What It Believes Are Erroneous Media Reports (Cision PR Newswire, 01/03/2020) ▶https://prn.to/3hDu3uo
"Shincheonji didn't lie about membership figures." (The Korea Herald 17/03/2020)
'Shincheonji members who survived COVID-19 volunteer en masse to aid vaccine development' (Religion News Service 26/06/2020)▶https://religionnews.com/2020/06/26/shincheonji-members-who-survived-covid-19-volunteer-en-masse-to-aid-vaccine-development/
South Korea church hit by COVID-19 says members to give plasma for research (Today Online 23/06/2020)▶https://bit.ly/3dxDTup
South Korea church hit by COVID-19 says members to give plasma for research (Jakarta Post 24/06/2020)▶https://bit.ly/2CBY5if
Official COVID-19 Response by Shincheonji Church of Jesus
•0307 Chairman Man Hee Lee asks "all congregants to fully cooperate for disease control" in a special announcement
•0302 Statement at Press Conference of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding COVID-19
•0302 Regarding COVID-19 Testing of Chairman Lee, Man-hee of Shincheonji Church of Jesus
•0301 Letter of Appeal to Political Leaders
•0228 Letter of Appeal from Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Regards to COVID-19
•0226 Shincheonji Church of Jesus Provided a List of All Members to Public Health Authorities
•0223 Statement of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding COVID-19
•0222 Over 1000 Shincheonji Church of Jesus Locations Disinfected and Closed Down in Korea
•0221 Shincheonji Church of Jesus Closed Down Its Churches and Affiliated Buildings from 18 Feb
•0220 Statement of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding COVID-19 Countermeasures and Fake News
•0219 Statement of Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
•0218 Notice on the Worship Service of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Regards to COVID-19
COVID-19/Fact Checker: Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
Personal Blog
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500 cured congregation members of Shincheonji Daegu Church Donate Blood Plasma
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