Because indoors are blocked, go outdoors… ‘Deviation’ of the church to the world
17th outdoor lawn worship service
Violation of the infectious disease prevention method likely to be accused
Reporter Lee Sang-bae [email protected]
Input: 2021-01-17 19:22:45Revision: 2021-01-17 19:25:40Published: 2021-01-17 19:25:54 (p. 8)
On the morning of the 17th, Sunday, the morning of the 17th, on the outdoor lawn in front of the church, when a temporary injunction application filed with the court was dismissed at Seegero Church in Gangseo-gu, Busan, which received an order to close the facility from the local government. We are conducting worship. Reporter Kim Kyung-hyun view@
An outdoor lawn in front of Seegero Presbyterian Church in Gangseo-gu, Busan at 11 am on the 17th. In the cold weather of -3 degrees Celsius, the grass of more than 650 pyeong dries yellow and gives a sensational feeling. It would be difficult to find one person if it was normal, but this day was different. The members of the church were filling the place. About 180 people gathered here began singing hymns while sitting on white simple chairs outside. It was a site where the quarantine regulations were not properly followed. In Busan, where the social distancing step 2.5 is being implemented, if the number of worshipers exceeds 20 as of the 17th, it is a violation of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act.
Throughout the 40 minutes of the service, tension overflowed from all over the church. The front door of the church with the’Facility Closed’ sticker was blocked by five Gangseo-gu Office staff. Outside the tapes with’no access’ written on it, four companies of police watched the worship situation. At the news of the worship service, more than 10 residents gathered and protested, saying, “Stop the service immediately.” Resident Yoo Soon-geun (70) said, “A lot of elderly people in their 60s and 70s live around the church and are vulnerable to infectious diseases.
‘Free Citizens’ Solidarity for Restoration of Worship (Ye Jaon)’, a church meeting including the Seero Church, announced that immediately after the service was over, “I will immediately appeal to the court’s decision to dismiss the application for temporary injunction to suspend the facility closure. Pastor Son Hyeon-bo of Seegero Church, an executive committee member, said, “The government did not provide a concrete basis for how high the risk of infection of confirmed persons is in churches that followed the quarantine rules. I will continue the worship service.”
The Gangseo-gu Office in Busan said on the 17th that “Segyero Church has confirmed the fact that it violated the quarantine measures and conducted a service, and will take action against charges of violating the infectious disease prevention method.” Including the administrative measures announced by the Gangseo-gu office on this day, the church in the world will be prosecuted eight times. According to the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, fines are imposed on facility managers who do not follow the quarantine guidelines of the government or local governments.
Earlier on the 15th, the court rejected the request for temporary injunction to suspend execution by the Saegero Church. On the 12th of this month, when the Gangseo-gu Office ordered the Seegero Church to close its facilities indefinitely, the church claimed it was unfair, but it was not accepted. However, the Saegero Church has again conducted face-to-face worship despite the local government’s order to close the facility and the court’s decision to dismiss the suspension of execution.
Lee Seong-hee, Director of Administrative and Cultural Affairs, Gangseo-gu Office said, “We will take all legally possible measures against the church in the world where infectious disease prevention methods were held on this day,” and “We will continue to try to find ways to avoid physical conflict. I said.
Reporter Lee Sang-bae sangbae@