SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA) – The metropolitan government in South Korea’s capital Seoul said on Friday it would look for 4.6 billion won (3.06 million pounds) to take care of the damages against a church. This step was taken after it lead to the spread of the coronavirus following the disruption of tracing and testing efforts.
A fresh wave of infections erupted at a church, the members of which were
part of a large protest in downtown Seoul in mid-August. This made it the
largest cluster in the greater capital area.
The Seoul city government said a lawsuit would be filed against the Sarang
Jeil Church and its leader, Rev Jun Kwang-hoon, for disrupting coronavirus
tests and for discrepancy of the lists of its members.
It said in a statement, “The city is seeking to hold the church and the
pastor responsible for contributing to the nationwide re-spread of COVID-19 by refusing and hindering epidemiological surveys or aiding and abetting such acts, as well as submitting false materials.”
The church has however not responded to calls seeking comment.
The National Health Insurance Service has also said it will sue the church
and ask for compensation worth 5.5 billion won ($4.7 million).
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 126 new cases as of midnight Thursday, thereby bringing the total infections to 22,783, with 377 deaths.
Authorities were on high alert before a major traditional holiday next week
when usually tens of millions of Koreans travel across the country.
Yoon Tae-ho, director-general for public health policy at the health
ministry, said, “The holiday period will be a pivotal moment in our
anti-virus campaign.”