The leader of a secretive South Korean sect linked to more than half the country’s 4,000-plus coronavirus cases yesterday apologized for the spread of the disease.
Shincheonji Church of Jesus head Lee Man-hee’s plea for forgiveness came after Seoul city authorities filed a murder complaint against him for failing to cooperate in containing the epidemic.
South Korea’s case numbers are expected to rise as authorities carry out checks on more than 266,000 people associated with Shincheonji, which is often condemned as a cult.
Photo: AFP
“I would like to offer my sincere apology to the people,” said Lee, his voice breaking.
“Although it was not intentional, many people have been infected,” the 88-year-old said, twice getting to his knees to bow his head to the floor before reporters in Gapyeong, south of Seoul, where the church is headquartered. “I seek the forgiveness of the people.”
“I am very thankful to the government for its efforts,” he added. “I also seek the forgiveness of the government.”
Photo: AFP
Lee is revered by his followers as the “Promised Pastor” who has taken on the mantle of Jesus Christ and is to take 144,000 people with him to heaven on the Day of Judgement, which he will usher in within his own lifetime.
A 61-year-old female member developed a fever on Feb. 10, but attended at least four church services in Daegu before being diagnosed.
Lee — whose organization says he has tested negative for the virus — said that the group was “actively cooperating with the government.”
“At churches, the leader of the church is like a parent and its members are the children,” he said, pausing occasionally to wipe tears from his eyes as protesters shouted abuse. “What parent would stand by and watch when there is such a scary disease that could even lead to death? Wouldn’t they try to fix it?”
Seoul’s city government has asked prosecutors to press charges, including homicide, against Lee and 11 other leaders after the sect was accused of submitting false lists of its members to authorities.
Under South Korean law prosecutors can make their own decision on whether to act on complaints filed to them, and Yonhap news agency reported that the request had been assigned for investigation.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon wrote on Facebook: “If they had actively taken early measures, we could have prevented the explosive rise of COVID-19 cases in Daegu and North Gyeongbuk Province and the deaths of several people.”
South Korea yesterday reported 476 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to 4,212, while the death toll rose to 22 with four more people dying, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Authorities want any members who have come into contact with infected patients — whether or not they show symptoms — to enter self-quarantine.
Many members have not responded to health officials, Shincheonji director of international missions Kim Shin-chang said.
“It is possible that our members are not completely forthcoming with the authorities on their movements out of fear their Shincheonji affiliation could be exposed,” Kim said. “Social hatred and discrimination against our members is so pervasive that many fear losing their jobs or fueling conflict among family members if their faith is revealed.”
“We have urged our members to tell the authorities everything,” said Kim, but he added that doing so was a “personal decision.”
Shincheonji was founded in 1984 by Lee.
“We believe there is only one Promised Pastor,” said Kim, 36, a born-again Christian until he joined Shincheonji 18 years ago, adding that Lee “exercises positive energy that affects the whole world.”
At services Shincheonji members are forbidden to wear glasses, necklaces or earrings in what Kim said is a “display of respect to God,” and sit close together on the floor.
About 3,000 Shincheonji members were at each of the Daegu services the 61-year-old woman attended, Kim said.
Shincheonji has 12 branches in South Korea that it calls the “12 Tribes,” each named after one of Jesus’s disciples, and is so successful it was able to mobilize thousands of followers to hold North Korean-style mass displays at Seoul’s Jamsil Olympic Stadium in 2012.
However, Kim said its members face “social stigma and hatred,” and there are no signs proclaiming the presence of its headquarters at the nondescript six-story building in Gwacheon.
Dozens of awards line the walls, among them a certificate of national merit for founder Lee from former South Korean president Park Geun-hye — which entitles him to be buried in the country’s national cemetery.
Kim denied that Shincheonji has political connections, but pictures have emerged of Lee Man-hee with Park and with former president Lee Myung-bak, and their party — now renamed United Future — has shied away from criticizing Shincheonji over the outbreak.
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