Apocalyptic Christian Cult Is Blamed For The Spread Of Coronavirus In S. Korea

A controversial South Korean church whose leader claims to be the second coming of Jesus has been identified as a coronavirus hotbed and the world’s second-largest cluster of new cases outside mainland China.



South Korea’s health officials announced Friday that the pneumonia-like infection has killed two people and sickened at least 200 others in recent days, with two-thirds of the cases being found in the southeast city of Daegu and nearby areas. Most of those cases are linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a shadowy Christian group that is widely described as a cult and claims to have 200,000 followers in South Korea.



A woman in her 60s who has been diagnosed with the disease, known as COVID-19, attended church services at least twice in recent days and may have exposed hundreds of people to the highly contagious infection. About 1,000 Shincheonji members have since been quarantined at their homes while health officials screen them for the virus.



The surge of new cases this week has South Koreans fearing that the outbreak may be out of control and will continue to spread throughout the country. “We have entered an emergency phase,” Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said on national television this week. “Our efforts until now had been focused on blocking the illness from entering the country. But we will now shift the focus on preventing the illness from spreading further in local communities.”



More than 2,200 deaths and about 75,000 cases have been confirmed in mainland China since the virus was discovered in late December. Japan is the second country with the most cases as hundreds of people aboard a cruise ship docked near Tokyo have contracted the virus in recent weeks.



The apocalyptic Shinchonji group was founded in 1984 by Lee Man-hee, who has been accused of being a false prophet for describing himself as “the Promised Pastor.”



“Shincheonji followers believe Lee Man-hee is immortal and has eternal life,” Ji-il Tark, of Busan Presbyterian University in South Korea, told The Associated Press. “To propagate their belief, they often approach their relatives and acquaintances or sneak to other churches without telling them they are Shincheonji members.”