Coronavirus: in South Korea, mounting anger, rumours over Shincheonji church as cases rise

The spike in Covid-19 cases has heightened interest in the controversial church, which accounts for over half of the country’s infections

Anger and mistrust reached a peak when an online post detailed its alleged plans to infiltrate traditional churches to spread the virus

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A man wearing a face mask rides an electric scooter in front of the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Anger and frustration at the controversial church has grown, after a cluster of infections were linked to it. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00am, 27 Feb 2020Updated: 9:48pm, 28 Feb 2020

South Koreans have taken to the internet to spread rumours and express their frustrations and anger at the controversial Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is linked to more than 50 per cent of the country’s confirmed coronavirus infections.

This came as the South Korean government on Wednesday said it had finally received a directory of all 210,000 members of the religious group, after several days of discussions with its leaders.

A member of a Shincheonji church in Daegu, 300km southeast of Seoul, became a “super-spreader” of the virus. The 61-year-old woman, who was identified as the country’s 31st confirmed case, took part in services at the Daegu branch of the church last week and has since been connected to an additional 455 cases among Shincheonji members nationwide, according to investigations by the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Workers sanitise a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, South Korea. Photo: Reuters

South Korea currently has the second-highest number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the world, with over 1,500 infected as of Wednesday evening. The spike in cases has heightened interest in the religious group and has shed new light on its leader, members and religious practices.

Established in 1984 and seen by mainstream churches as a cult, followers believe the group’s founder, Lee Man-hee, to be the second coming of Jesus who will bring restoration to the world. Members are mostly known to the public for trying to evangelise pedestrians by acting like students trying to conduct surveys. But attitudes towards the church have become more critical as the outbreak among Shincheonji members dominates news cycles and spreads fear and anger.

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