[전국]’Sangju World Center’ Spreads Across the Country … Concerns Over Second Shincheonji Crisis

[앵커]

Corona 19 confirmed cases related to the BTJ World Center in Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do are popping up one after another across the country.

As it turned out that 2,000 people attended the event held late last year, ignoring the warning from the quarantine authorities, voices of concern are emerging over the second ‘Shincheonji Daegu Church crisis’.

Reporter Heo Seong-joon reports.

[기자]

Confirmed cases are occurring one after another in two churches in Chungju.

They are all pastors and members of the BTJ World Center in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, including teenage students.

The number of confirmed cases in the Chungju area related to the Nation Center has risen by more than 40 in the new year alone.

[조길형 / 충북 충주시장 : 이들 43명의 확진자는 경북 상주의 열방센터라는 종교시설과 연관이 있는 것으로 추정되고 우리 시와 연결고리가 이어져 확산하고 있어 긴장의 끈을 놓을 수 없는 상황입니다.]

Ulsan is in a more dire situation.

As members who visited the Center of the Nations participated in their church events, more than 100 confirmed cases came out of the 17 churches.

There are several confirmed cases related to the World Center in Gwangju and Busan, Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk.

More than 2,400 people are estimated to have participated in two events held at the Center of Nations late last year by quarantine authorities.

Quarantine authorities foreshadowed a strong response when the Center for the Nation showed lack of cooperation, such as damaging the assembly’s restraining order despite the situation being unusual.

Each local government has issued an administrative order to prohibit diagnostic tests and meetings for church members who have visited the National Center.

The city of Sangju plans to immediately prosecute the violation of the administrative order and ask the National Center for the cost of quarantine caused by the occurrence of a confirmed person.

Also, if the violation of quarantine regulations is not corrected, we are considering closing the facility and canceling the permission to establish a corporation.

[강영석 / 경북 상주시장 : 개별적으로도 진단검사를 받으라는 행정명령을 발송했습니다만, 다시 여러분들한테 협조를 구하러 온 것인데 그게 안 된다면 이후에는 우리 지역에 있는 기관으로 인정하지 않겠습니다.]

The BTJ Center for Nations was operated in cooperation with Intercorp, a Christian missions organization, and entered Sangju in 2013.

Missionary training programs, such as one-night and two-day camps, are known to be conducted by meeting members interested in mission.

YTN Heo Seong-jun[[email protected]]is.

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