Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-7

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus

Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-7

□ Other Fake News

1) People from Shincheonji Church of Jesus visit door to door posing to give out face masks to spread the virus?

That is not true at all. There are photos on the internet of a person visiting houses to give out masks. As clarified in prior publications, the people in the images are local community leaders of towns and villages (representatives of li, eup, myeon, and dong) and public workers of Daegu City. Currently, Shincheonji Church of Jesus has suspended all activities for evangelism, services, or gatherings.

2) The Tribe of James in Busan of Shincheonji Church is hosting an open house event on 29 February and inviting citizens?

All information and materials on events hosted by Shincheonji Church of Jesus were produced and distributed before the spread of COVID-19. To avoid any confusion, please note that Shincheonji Church of Jesus has prohibited all services, meetings, and functions starting from 18 February.

3) Shincheonji Church requires people to complete a certain course at a training camp before they can sign up as a member? Those trainees are what they call students?

Joining Shincheonji Church of Jesus requires a six-month course of studying the Bible (at Zion Christian Mission Center) that ends with a final examination. Once you complete the course and pass the final exam, you are eligible to join the church, which is a decision by choice. There are no camps required for joining Shincheonji Church, and the church does not recommend it. That assertion is entirely false.

4) There is a video on social media of a person confirmed as infected and a member of Shincheonji Church on the run from a hospital quarantine ward and wandering the streets. Is that real?

No, it is not.  

5) The distinct style of services at Shincheonji Church worsened the spread of COVID-19?

Since it is not an expert group on health and medicine, Shincheonji Church of Jesus cannot determine why the church has had a high count of infection.

Some media reports claim the spread of COVID-19 was exacerbated because of the way of service at a Shincheonji church. Shincheonji Church of Jesus does have a large congregation. A Shincheonji church arranges seats so that the congregation members would sit on the floor with a distance between one another. 

This seat arrangement allows church members more personal space and room to move about compared to conventional church row chairs. On days with an unusually big crowd, space in between people may get smaller than usual to accommodate more people in the given space. When space allows, people sit wider apart.

Moreover, church notices from January state that anyone who shows any symptoms of a cold, including coughing and fever, was not allowed to come to service. Others were encouraged to wear protective face masks. Assertions that the style of worship at Shincheonji Church of Jesus is the cause of a mass spread of the virus are unfounded.

6) Shincheonji Church of Jesus does not tolerate personal health issues, so churchgoers must hide their ailments and attend service?

That is entirely false. Shincheonji Church of Jesus does not demonize illnesses or ailments. When sick, we take rest and seek medical help. Members sometimes do have personal reasons for not joining service from health, business trips, or family matters, and none of those reasons can cause disadvantages. Service and worship is a personal matter in faith.

※ Updates will keep coming. The flood of inquiry calls is hampering church administrative work at this time. We ask journalists to kindly send their inquiries via text message. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-6

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus

Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-6

□ Regarding confirmed case patient no. 31

1) The 31st confirmed patient refused to test for COVID-19 twice when suggested at the hospital admitted after a traffic accident?

That is not correct. According to the recounts of the patient, the patient was admitted to Saeronan Korean Medicine Hospital on 7 February, and developed symptoms of a cold after receiving I.V. fluid with the window open. Fever started around the 9th, and the patient was diagnosed with pneumonia on the 14th. However, the medical staff at the hospital never mentioned COVID-19. 

On the 17th, blood test results indicated a worsened case of pneumonia. Then, the healthcare workers suggested the patient transfer to a bigger hospital and test for COVID-19 as well. The patient called the local public health office in Suseong-gu, where she was tested and confirmed positive.

2) A patient in quarantine (confirmed case 31) at a Daegu Hospital assaulted a nurse, made a scene, and people from Shincheonji caused a nuisance at the hospital?

This news, which started circulating in online communities and messengers from the morning of 19 February, is entirely false. The Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act allows health workers to quarantine confirmed cases and contacts, and not following quarantine orders may result in a penalty of three million Korean won. A nurse at the said hospital confirmed that such allegations were fake news. Also, since the Daegu hospital is currently closed down, it would be impossible for a group of people to barge in and cause a disturbance.

※ Updates will keep coming. The flood of inquiry calls is hampering church administrative work at this time. We ask journalists to kindly send their inquiries via text message. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-5

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus

Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-5

□ On False Notices

Notices coming from the headquarters office of Shincheonji Church of Jesus are drafted and published in the form of a formal letter. The church clearly states that any other format of notification is not an official notice coming from Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Any circulation or syndicating of falsified messages posing as a formal note from the church in chatrooms or on social media will lead to legal charges.

1) Shincheonji Church of Jesus encourages its members to hide that they attended service at a Shincheonji church and to continue activities for evangelism?

Not true. On the morning of 18 February, the church was made aware of the 31st confirmed case of COVID-19, which was found to be a member of a Shincheonji church in Daegu. The Headquarters of Shincheonji Church of Jesus immediately sent an announcement to all branch churches in Korea prohibiting any gathering, service, and ordered to close church spaces and all services to be made online.

As soon as the church was made aware of the confirmed case at 9 a.m. the same day, the Shincheonji Church in Daegu also closed the church and mission centers and forbade any meetings, activities for evangelism, or any personal contact among church members. Immediately after that, the church started an epidemiological survey with the guidance of the KCDC and Daegu city government. Meanwhile, all members of Daegu Shincheonji Church went in self-quarantine, and those who presented symptoms tested for infection.

The church headquarters office sent text messages to all members of Shincheonji Church to notify them of the situation. It provided strict guidelines to self-quarantine for those who have visited Daegu church, also guiding the entire congregation of all Shincheonji churches to try to remain at home and contact local public health offices in case of fever.

The so-called “Deceptive Response Manual,” rumored to be a part of a “Notice from the Ministry of Liaison of Daegu Church,” is nothing like the actual guidelines provided by either Daegu Church or the headquarters of Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Shincheonji Daegu Church shared the instruction messages with the KCDC when the officials arrived at the church at 9 am, and the church is in close cooperation with the KCDC.

The message in question was a text composed by an individual member of the Daegu Church and sent to fellow members. The church looked into the matter, immediately made corrections to the texted contents, and brought disciplinary measures to the person responsible.

Additionally, on 19 February, the headquarters sent a formal notice to all Shincheonji churches in Korea to prevent similar events from happening. The notice instructs all members to follow the headquarters' guidelines, not to take actions arbitrarily, and to cooperate with and accommodate the requests of the public health department.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus has publicly announced multiple times that it will actively follow government policies on this matter, and it is currently bringing its full capacity to work closely with public health officials. We pray for the swift recovery of church members and all patients struck by COVID-19. Shincheonji Church of Jesus will put forth its utmost efforts to help resolve the current national health threat.

2) Shincheonji church gave out secret orders to its members not to come to service but, instead, go to other churches so they could spread the virus and make the epidemic everybody's problem?

It is entirely false. The headquarters office has closed down all Shincheonji churches from 18 February and guided members to have service online from home. The church also currently prohibits all types of meetings, activities, and encounters among or within the congregation. All members of the church conform to instructions from health officials. In response to such fake news spreading on social media, Shincheonji Church of Jesus will seek strict legal measures on the grounds of publicly alleging false facts.

※ Updates will keep coming. The flood of inquiry calls is hampering church administrative work at this time. We ask journalists to kindly send their inquiries via text message. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-4

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus

Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-4

□ On Cheongdo Daenam Hospital

Among visitors at the funeral held at Cheongdo Daenam Hospital, no church members were visiting from China, and a survey on the entire congregation showed that no church member works at Cheongdo Daenam Hospital. Also, the patient referred to as confirmed case no. 31, or the Shincheonji Volunteer Group has never visited Cheongdo Daenam Hospital.

□ On Wuhan Church in China

It was 2010 when a member of the church, a Chinese national who had studied the Bible in Germany, started the work of mission in Wuhan, China.

In China, the new Religious Affairs Regulations went into effect in early 2018, applying stringent rules to regulate religious practices. As a result of such regulations, all Shincheonji churches in China were closed in 2018. Equally, Wuhan Church closed down all church spaces on 15 June 2018 and has since taken all meetings and services online and operates them autonomously.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus acknowledges a group as a 'church' when the number congregation exceeds 120. Church members in Wuhan reached 120 in 2018, and the church recognized the area as Wuhan Church on 1 January 2019, however, without any physical church building. Church records show that there are 357 members in Wuhan. Wuhan Church is a branch of the Tribe of James in Busan and is not related to Daegu Church, which is under the Tribe of Thaddaeus, and according to records, none have been to service there during January and February.

※ Updates will keep coming. The flood of inquiry calls is hampering church administrative work at this time. We ask journalists to kindly send their inquiries via text message. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-3

Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus

Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-3

□ On church buildings, annexes, and other facilities

The 1,100 churches and annex facilities that Shincheonji Church of Jesus disclosed to the public is the sum of all churches, offices, education halls, gathering spaces, mission centers, mission churches, cultural spaces, seminar rooms, and student halls in Korea. The properties reported to the General Assembly included land unsuitable for public gatherings, plots reserved for parking space, storages, and buildings owned or leased by individuals. And the total number 1,529 reported indicates the number of organs holding property, not the number of estates. 

When it comes to real estate properties, the church does not control property information from a single administrative system, but rather, respective branch churches would send files separately when reporting their properties. To follow up on the claims that some addresses were incorrect, omitted, or outdated and already closed, the church staff doublechecked the address information. As a result, the church provided a list of all church properties including vacant land, storages, homes, dorms, and properties owned or leased by individuals totaling 1,903.

(As of the end of January 2020)

1) Shincheonji Church of Jesus had said the total number of their congregation is approximately 240,000. The KCDC says they received a list of 212,000 people. Why is there a difference?

The 240,000 is a number counting in the congregation members of churches abroad. Shincehonji Church of Jesus had provided a list of the entire domestic congregation counting 212,324 and followed up on the evening of 26 February by submitting an additional list of 33,281 members overseas.

2) Shincheonji Church of Jesus deliberately excluded their student information from the list sent to the KCDC?

The KCDC requested the list of students on 27 February, and the church immediately provided the list the same day. Provided that students are not officially recognized church members, Shincheonji Church of Jesus cannot provide personal information on its terms. Therefore, the list was provided on the condition that the public health authority would take full legal responsibility in case of any breach.

3) A group, titled the National Association of Victims of Shincheonji Church, filed a suit against the leader of Shincheonji Church charging violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act by refusing to submit material, submitting false information or concealing it. Didn't the church hide its records?

Shincheonji Church of Jesus has certainly provided all materials to the KCDC. Regarding the charges brought against Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a member of a group that has been slandering the church brought charges for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act by either refusing to submit information, or submitting wrong information, or concealing them. The allegations are groundless since Shincheonji Church of Jesus is actively cooperating with the public health authorities by providing information. 

In addition to that, there were charges on embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. Earlier, in 2019, an organization and its members, who have falsely accused Shincheonji Church of Jesus, filed charges with the same accusations. After investigation, Gwacheon Police Station concluded the accusation was not grounded, and the case is currently pending at the Anyang City Prosecutor's Office. Those charges are redundant.

※ Updates will keep coming. The flood of inquiry calls is hampering church administrative work at this time. We ask journalists to kindly send their inquiries via text message. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.