Gyeonggi Province Refers Two Churches for Investigation Over Quarantine Violations...Issues Assembly Ban Orders to 32 Churches

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon Reporter] Gyeonggi Province has decided to refer two churches for investigation through their respective city and county offices after they conducted in-person worship services again on Aug. 30 and obstructed inspecting officials from entering the premises, despite having received assembly ban orders after obstructing government officials conducting quarantine inspections on Aug. 23.

Gyeonggi Province announced on Sept. 1 that a task force composed of 5,081 officials from the province and its city and county governments inspected 7,549 churches in the region on Aug. 30, and decided to take strict measures against 34 churches that violated quarantine rules, including these two churches.

According to the Aug. 30 inspection results, a total of 118 churches violated quarantine rules on that day. Of these, 114 churches held in-person worship services, and the remaining four churches held non-contact worship services but exceeded the essential personnel limit of 20 or had multiple people singing hymns.
The province decided to refer 34 churches with serious violations—including inspection obstruction, violations of core quarantine rules, and repeated in-person worship—to the authorities and issue assembly ban orders.

First, the two churches obstructed government officials from entering during inspections on Aug. 23 and had already received assembly ban orders at that time. Yet they held in-person worship services again and obstructed officials conducting quarantine inspections from entering the premises.
The remaining 32 churches all held in-person worship services on both Aug. 23 and Aug. 30. Among these, one church had received a serious warning for violating quarantine rules the previous week but held in-person worship again this time, and another church held in-person worship while violating core quarantine rules such as not wearing masks and holding small group meetings.
The province decided to issue two-week assembly ban orders through city and county governments to these 32 churches that repeatedly held in-person worship or violated quarantine rules.
If these 32 churches and their congregants violate the assembly ban orders again, the province will refer all of them for investigation in accordance with Article 80, Paragraph 7 of the ‘Infectious Disease Prevention and Management Act,’ and will also take strict measures including requesting cost recovery for quarantine-related expenses such as testing, investigation, and treatment if confirmed cases occur.

For the remaining 80 churches that held in-person worship services on Aug. 30 and 4 churches that violated non-contact worship guidelines—a total of 84 churches—the province decided to issue warnings with notice of strong response including referral if further violations of quarantine rules are confirmed.

Oh Tae-seok, director of the Gyeonggi Province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “In a situation where the quarantine achievements built through the unified efforts of the government and citizens are greatly shaken, some churches have repeatedly violated quarantine rules, prompting us to take strict measures.” He added, “This measure is not a bias against religion but a necessary action for the lives and safety of our residents. We urge Christian leaders and congregants to comply with quarantine rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

Meanwhile, following strengthened church quarantine measures for the Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Incheon regions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, churches in the province have been permitted to hold only ‘non-contact worship’ since Aug. 19, and all in-person meetings and events organized by churches are prohibited.
Even during non-contact worship, only essential personnel of 20 or fewer for video production may participate. Churches must comply with quarantine rules including wearing masks, prohibiting meal service, maintaining physical distance, and prohibiting group singing of hymns (only solo singing is allowed).