2800 people stopped in the mountains… The identity of the’Second Shincheonji’ BTJ World Center

There is a large prayer hall at the end of Bonghwangsan Mountain, Sangsang-ri, Hwaseo-myeon, Sangju-si, Gyeongbuk. It is a’BTJ World Center’ built in a quiet mountain village. In October-December last year, several meetings were held at this center that violated the quarantine rules of the second stage of social distancing, where 50 people could not gather indoors. Only 2837 people were counted by the health authorities.

Among them, after the first confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) occurred at the end of November of last year, the number of confirmed cases related to the center increased to 505 in 9 cities and provinces nationwide, including Gyeonggi-do. However, about 70% of the participants are not tested for Corona 19. The list of participants was also barely submitted. Intercop’s representative was accused three times in Sangju, as the notice on the prohibition of gathering at the entrance of the center was damaged.

On the 30th of last month, the police confiscated and searched the BTJ Universal Center to secure computer data and conduct an investigation. This is the reason why stories say that it resembles the Daegu Church situation at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, where a group infection occurred in February-March last year.

What is the BTJ World Center doing? Why is it not responding to the health authorities’ demand for testing? As questions about the BTJ Center for the Nations increase, interest in the missionary organization’Intercorp’ that operates this center is also growing.

InterCP International is a mission founded in 1983. It is called the Christian Religious Corporation Professional International Mission Group. On the official website of the Internet, it is introduced as an overseas missionary institution established for the purpose of’Peasing Missions for Unreached Peoples’. It is a missionary activity in Afghanistan, which mainly believes in other religions such as Islam and Hinduism. According to the website description, as of 2020, there are 1,400 missionaries active.

At the end of last year, at the end of last year, when the number of corona19 confirmed patients increased rapidly, Intercorp held a mission camp for domestic church members. The facility designated as this mission camp site is the Sangju BTJ World Center.

The nations (列邦) is a biblical term referring to the nations of the world and all nations. BTJ stands for’Back To Jerusalem’. Together, it means that it is a missionary facility to bring people around the world back to Jerusalem, the source of the world. Intercorp also introduced the Center of the Nations as a’World Mission Outpost’ in its brochures.

The BTJ World Center consists of prayer rooms, seminar rooms, multipurpose rooms, and guest rooms. It is a system that gathers members interested in missionary work in an auditorium of 2618㎡ (approximately 792 pyeong) and provides training for about 2 days and 1 night.

The problem is that the infection spread nationwide as members of the center trained return to their respective churches or schools. Ulsan is a representative example. According to the quarantine authorities, Intercorp Ulsan Branch held a mission camp for elementary school students on the 19th of last month by lending a church in Ulsan. Elementary school students who participated returned to about 20 churches and schools in the area, and the infection spread.

At first, I thought it was an infection that started in a simple church, but it led to a group infection. According to an investigation by the health authorities, it was found that 10 members of the church had stopped by the resident center. Until the 10th, only 156 confirmed cases related to Intercop in the region. However, in the case of Ulsan, the causal relationship that the infection occurred after stopping at the Sangju Center was not clearly confirmed, so it was not included in the count by the health authorities. Some of the church members who went to the Sangju Center lost contact and issued an administrative order in Ulsan City to undergo a corona19 test.

In the case of nationwide except Ulsan, 30.7% (872) of 2837 resident center participants were tested, of which 154 were confirmed. The quarantine authorities explained that 45 of these confirmed patients visited 21 religious facilities and meetings located in 8 cities and provinces nationwide, and 351 more were infected.

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held the day before, “Visitors to the BTJ World Center should undergo an inspection.”

Meanwhile, Intercorp announced an apology on the 2nd and said, “Throughout the BTJ Center for Fever, people with physical abnormalities such as fever were strictly managed not to attend. In the event, we thoroughly followed quarantine and precautionary measures such as wearing masks and social distancing, and meals were also resolved with lunch boxes outdoors.”

“Even though the best efforts were made to prevent and prevent quarantine, some of the people who visited this place after the rally were diagnosed with Corona 19, and they felt deeply responsible for the infection of those who contacted them.” I apologize.”

Sangju = Reporter Baek Kyungseo [email protected]