SEOUL: The city of Seoul on Sunday asked prosecutors to investigate the founder of a church at the centre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak and other top leaders of the sect on murder and other criminal charges. Officials believe that the church has contributed to the country’s rising death toll from the virus — which reached 20 as of Sunday — by failing to provide diseasecontrol officials with a full accurate list of church members and by interfering with the government’s efforts to fight the outbreak.
In a Facebook post, Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul said the church’s behaviour was tantamount to “murder through to wilful negligence”. Officials say that nearly 60% of the 3,736 confirmed cases in South Korea are in members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu or people who came into contact with them. Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to begin a formal investigation into the founder, Lee Man-hee, and other sect leaders. Shincheonji officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
In a Facebook post, Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul said the church’s behaviour was tantamount to “murder through to wilful negligence”. Officials say that nearly 60% of the 3,736 confirmed cases in South Korea are in members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu or people who came into contact with them. Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to begin a formal investigation into the founder, Lee Man-hee, and other sect leaders. Shincheonji officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
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