In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the South Korean government first pointed fingers at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus for igniting the spread of the virus in the country.
Now members of the Conservative church are retaliating, saying not only that they were used as scapegoats for the mismanagement of government, but that they are facing persecution and shame as a result.
“This negative stigma is already deeply ingrained in Korea, and by extension, in Korean immigrant communities abroad in countries like the United States. For that reason, Shincheonji has been an easy target for people’s guilt and shame about COVID-19, ”Michelle Lee, a California-based Shincheonji member, told Fox News. “Members have suffered mental, emotional, professional, social and physical harm as a result of this dishonest persecution against Shincheonji.”
Lee Man-hee, a leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, attended a press conference in Gapyeong, South Korea, on Monday, March 2, 2020. In the nearly-scheduled news conference, Lee, the 88-year-old leader of a religious sect that has the largest cluster of infections in the country, bent on the ground twice and apologized for causing the “unintentional”? spread of recent coronavirus disease. (Kim Ju-sung / Yonhap via AP)
In February – early in the onslaught of the disease, which erupted from Wuhan, China – the government of South Korea, President Moon Jae-in, called for something of a stagnant response, which critics have condemned as both naive as an attempt to stay in good shape ahead of April’s planned House elections. Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections in late January.
As the death toll rose, authorities pointed the finger at Shincheonji Church – often characterized as a mysterious cult-like sect – claiming that 80% of the cases of the then 1,800 infections all stemmed from doomsday followers.
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However, devotees say the debt game has only escalated and is an attempt to deflate.
Korean Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae has been accused of targeting Shincheonji for condemning her prose policy, and South Korean Deputy Health Minister Kim Gang-lip has ruled out the church’s top brass for lack of cooperation in passing on contact information of members for tracking and testing of targets.
However, church members state that when fingers were pointed in their direction, very few health orders were even issued. On its official website, Shincheonji claims that “all services of honor will be held online, and meetings and gatherings will be completely stopped until the new coronavirus epidemic is over.”
Representatives promise that its headquarters will be closed on February 18 – before many other institutions – and pre-planned events scheduled for later that month were all abruptly canceled.
Police officers wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the new coronavirus are on guard in downtown Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. (AP Photo / Lee Jin-man)
“General social alienation rules were not in place in South Korea at the time of the outbreak. At the time of the outbreak, it was not clear to the government whether COVID-19 would be more contagious than MERS, and the president had urged citizens to lead normal economic lives, ”Lee promised. “Even two days after the confirmation of the 31st COVID-19 patient, President Moon held a celebratory party for the director and cast of the movie ‘Parasite.'”
Nevertheless, Shincheonji remains on Seoul’s radar. Earlier this month, the church’s leader – 88-year-old Lee Man-hee – was arrested and charged with “murder by willful negligence” for proving incomplete and late reports to the government for contact detection, and a incomplete list of church properties, such as sustainability. Lee Man-hee is currently in jail, awaiting prosecution, and it remains unclear if and when he will go to court.
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The government claims it has requested a comprehensive list of facilities and members, which were allegedly falsified by Lee Man-hee. Authorities have also stressed that since the first member tested positive for the new pathogen, more than 5,000 cases were linked back to the religious group.
However, Michelle Lee and Shincheonji officials have denied crimes and insisted they cooperated with law enforcement – even in the face of sheer concerns about privacy and growing public backwardness.
Lee Man-hee, a leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, bowed during the press conference in Gapyeong, South Korea, on Monday, March 2, 2020. In the nearly-scheduled news conference, Lee, the 88-year-old leader of a religious sect that largest cluster of infections in the country, has twice bowed to the ground and apologized for the “unintended” spread of the disease. (Kim Ju-sung / Yonhap via AP)
“When the government requested a full membership list, the list was provided by the church, despite concerns about the privacy and safety of members if their relationship was exposed,” Michelle Lee suggested. “However, the contact list was very leaked and shared via online community boards, city bulletin boards, social media and messaging platforms. This leads to cases of discrimination and persecution, including receiving unwanted contact from strangers, unfair dismissal of jobs, and university students being told to leave public areas such as bedrooms when they were Shincheonji Congress.
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She also noted that it is “difficult to say that all numbers and addresses were up to date because the members’ information itself is provided and reported by individual congrgants,” which “could have led to some members being unreachable. “
In addition, a civic organization has accused Lee Man-hee of embezzling church funds, and in July, at the end of July, seven other senior church officials were sued in the Suwon District Court for violating the Infectious Disease Control Act.
The Shincheonji – which translates to “new heaven and earth” – claims to have about 210,000 members in South Korea and a further 40,000 abroad. The full name is the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the temple of the tabernacle of testimony. It was founded in 1984 by Lee Man-hee, who is referred to as the “Promised Pastor.”
According to Michelle Lee, the persecution problems, although apparently exacerbated by the outbreak of the novel, began several years ago.
“Shincheonji Church is considered a cult by many Protestant church members. This stigma is the result of the hostility of Protestant denominations against Shincheonji because of a large number of people leaving Protestant denominations to attend Shincheonji instead, ‘she said. “This has led to discrimination and persecution in the form of verbal harassment, discrimination in the workplace, physical assault, domestic violence, abduction, forced isolation and being forced into mental institutions.”
A computer screen displays images of Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and US President Donald Trump working as a currency trader at the KEB Hana Bank headquarters for foreign exchange at Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, August 26, 2019. Asian stocks tumbled Monday after the latest escalation in the U.S.-China trade war renewed uncertainties about global economies, as well as questions about what Trump next would say. (AP Photo / Ahn Young-joon)
In June, the church proposed to reduce some of the blowbacks by offering to donate plasma to the 4,000 members who had recovered from coronavirus to help develop the vaccine. According to the Wall Street Journal, at the moment only 200 survivors in South Korea were voluntarily donating their blood to recovery.
As of now, South Korea – a nation of 51 million – has recorded just over 16,300 cases of the pathogen and 300 deaths. And although Shincheonji has borne the stunt of much guilt over the past six months, other religious institutions are now coming under fire as well.
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On Sunday, Sarang Jeil Church – led by pastor Jun Kwang-hoon, a conservative pastor and staunch anti-moon activist – was accused of violating the country’s self-isolation regulations and stopping contact tracking, which led to a renovation in the onset of infection with about 240 cases reported to originate from churchgoers.
Moon has promised to take “vigorous and strong action” against religious groups that are seen as “threatening public life”, and calls for both support and suspicion that the goal of religious outfits is aimed at those who are their leader and his opposition left-wing politics.
“The guilt of a religious minority group only exacerbates the problem and is a clear violation of individual freedom of religion. It also does not help with prevention or quarantine efforts, as explained by health officials, ”added Michelle Lee. “Instead of spending time blaming each other, we as fellow human beings should suffer together in this crisis and work together to end it.”
The U.S. Embassy in South Korea did not respond to a request for comment.
