Coronavirus: Half of South Korea’s 433 cases are linked to secret Church of Jesus cult whose leader thinks he’s IMMORTAL
HALF of all coronavirus cases in South Korea are linked to a secret religious cult whose leader believes he is immortal.
Officials confirmed at least 231 of the country's 433 cases are linked to outbreaks at a secretive branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu.
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Shincheonji translates as “new heaven and land” and the cult is drawing global attention after being linked to a spike in coronavirus infections across the nation.
Cult leader Lee Man-Hee, now aged 88, labelled the deadly outbreak "the devil's deed" and "a test of faith" in a message sent on an internal app.
In one message, he wrote: "This disease case is seen as the devil's deed to stop the rapid growth of Shincheonji", according to Yonhap news agency.
This disease case is seen as the devil's deed to stop the rapid growth of Shincheonji.
Cult founder, Lee Man-Hee
"Just like the tests Job went through, it is to destroy our advancement".
Lee Man-Hee claims to be an immortal prophet sent by Jesus Christ to prepare for the end of the world. The sect acounts about 300,000 followers at some 600 locations in 29 countries, stretching as far as South Africa, the Congo and Costa Rica.
'PATIENT 31'
Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 142 new cases in the morning, and another 87 in the afternoon.
The KCDC knows of 9,300 people who had attended church services with around 1,200 of whom have complained of flu like symptoms.
More than half of the South Korea cases are linked to a 61-year-old woman known as 'Patient 31' who attended religious services at the branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.
The woman is not believed to have travelled abroad.
There are also reports of outbreaks at a psychiatric unit of a hospital in Cheongdo county.
Two people from the Cheongdo hospital have died from the bug.
KCDC has designated both Daegu, which has 2.5million living there, and Cheongdo county, home to around 43,000, as “special zones”.
Authorities sent military medical staff, and extra resources, including hospital beds.
South Korean officials have suggested the outbreaks in the hospital and the church could be linked after members of the religious cult attended a funeral at the hospital for the brother of its founder this month.
President Moon Jae-in has ordered officials to investigate links.
'SECRETIVE' CULT
One former church member who left the church in 2015, Lee Ho-yeon, told : “Unlike other churches, Shincheonji makes its members sit on the floor tightly together during services, in neat, military-like ranks and files.
“We were not supposed to have anything on our faces, like glasses or masks. We were trained to sing our hymns loudly.
We were not supposed to have anything on our faces, like glasses or masks. We were taught not to be afraid of illness.
Former church member Lee Ho-yeon
“We were taught not to be afraid of illness ... We were taught not to care about such worldly things like jobs, ambition or passion. Everything was focused on proselytizing, even when we were sick.”
CHURCH ON LOCKDOWN
Coronavirus cases have doubled in South Korea, adding to fears of a global pandemic.
There have now been 433 confirmed cases in South Korea, with 229 on Saturday.
The number of cases in the country is second only to mainland China.
More than half of those infected are part of a religious cult.
Another 111 are patients or staff at the Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, where two South Koreans have died.
More than 1,250 members of the religious group, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, have reported potential symptoms and officials are frantically searching for 700 more members so they can be tested.
Health officials are zeroing in on the church’s practices in an attempt to contain South Korea’s alarming coronavirus outbreak.
Officials in Seoul said they were closing Shincheonji churches and asking group members who were at services to isolate themselves, but the authorities have said hundreds cannot be reached.
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