A South Korean church accused of recklessly interfering with the country’s fight against coronavirus may face criminal charges.
Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul, said Sunday that the behavior of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus was tantamount to “murder through willful negligence,” according to the New York Times.
As of Sunday, at least 17 people have died from COVID-19 in South Korea and 3,736 people have been diagnosed. Of those diagnosed with the virus, almost 60% are either members of the church or have interacted with members, according to the Times.
The Shincheonji Church of Jesus boasts about 230,000 members.
Church officials previously said they had shut down all services and gatherings and were “sanitizing every church and annex buildings all across the nation.”
“We will actively participate in disease prevention activity, following the government’s measure,” the group said in a statement.
But it also lashed out and accused the media of “reporting that we are the main culprit in the spread of virus, referring to our ‘unusual service style’ — a reality where we had to hold service on the floor to maximize the number of occupants in our small space.”
Duhyen Kim, a former member of the Shincheonji Church, told CNN late last week that attendees are not allowed to wear masks during prayer time because it would be “disrespectful to God.”
Dozens of people have died from coronavirus so far and thousands more infected. Saturday saw the first U.S. death, a Washington state man in his 50s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” in late January, but President Trump Saturday downplayed concerns of what he had previously referred to as a hoax.
“There’s no need to panic,” he said during a press conference. “This is something that’s being handled professionally.”
