DAEGU, June 23 — Daegu, once the epicenter of South Korea’s new coronavirus outbreak, filed a civil damage suit against a fringe religious sect for allegedly causing mass infections by hindering the city’s quarantine efforts, the city said Tuesday.
The city, the country’s fourth-largest with 24.3 million people, filed the suit with the Daegu District Court on Thursday against the Shincheonji Church of Jesus and its chairman, Lee Man-hee, Yonhap News Agency (Yonhap) reported.
It demanded Shincheonji provide financial compensation of RM351.91 million (100 billion won or US$82.3 million), more than two-thirds of the city’s total virus-related spending of RM513 million (146 billion won or US$120 million). The city said it was planning to increase the amount as it secures more evidence of financial damage down the road.
The city believed mass infections among the religion’s practitioners led to a spike in the city’s Covid-19 caseload, putting huge financial strain on the city and stretching health care facilities there. The city spent a huge sum of money on quarantine and health-related work to stop the rapid spread of the virus.
Daegu’s first known Covid-19 patient was confirmed on Feb 18. After the city found out that she was a Shincheonji member, it demanded the sect submit a list of its members, ask them to actively get tested for the virus and cooperate with the city’s quarantine efforts, all of which, the city argued, were not followed through, Yonhap reported.
It also said Daegu had said many of the sect’s worshipers gathered for prayer or bible studies in a place not registered as a religious facility. Such a violation of architectural laws, the city argued, also played a role in spreading the virus.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the city has reported 6,901 cases, and about 61 per cent were confirmed to be Shincheonji members. The country’s total caseload is 12,484 as of Tuesday.
— Bernama
