South Korea Cult Tries Redeeming Itself By Donating Blood To Covid-19 Studies

If there were a documentary called What Not to Do During a Pandemic, the Shincheonji Church could write, direct, and star in it.

From forbidding churchgoers to wear masks to worshippers refusing to get tested or treated for Covid-19, the church has seemingly done everything it possibly could to help Covid-19 in its quest for world domination.

As a result, 60% of Covid-19 patients in South Korea early on in the outbreak were from the Shincheonji Church, which many have labelled a cult.

That number has since dropped to around 29.5%, but people are still mad.

Now, months after making myriad mistakes, the church is trying to redeem itself.

South Korea Cult Tries Redeeming Itself By Donating Blood To Covid-19 Studies

Almost 200 Covid-19 survivors from the church donated blood plasma on Friday (28 Aug) to help treatment research, according to The Straits Times.

In fact, in the past week, over 1,000 Shincheonji members had been donating plasma.

For the uninitiated, blood plasma of Covid-19 survivors has been touted as a potential treatment for the coronavirus, as it contains antibodies to the virus.

This, it seems, is an attempt by the church to win public approval and even admiration, after it was heavily vilified early on in the outbreak.

According to ST, the church apologised “for causing much concern and worry to the people of Korea”, adding its leader Lee had encouraged its members, “who have been atoned for their sins by the blood of Jesus”, to donate.

A spokesman believes that the polemic against the church’s religious practices may have contributed to public antagonism.

“Because we have been framed as a cult by the (Christian) religious circles, I think it’s possible that people felt more antagonistic towards an emerging sect”, he said.

But, if you go through a list of all the things the church reportedly did, it’s hard not to assign some blame.

What Not to Do During a Pandemic

For those who’ve completely forgotten why people hate the Shincheonji Church so much, here’s a brief recap.

It all started back in February with a churchgoer who contracted the coronavirus – Patient 31.

She’s a 61-year-old woman who was a member of the church’s Daegu branch. The woman refused twice to test for the coronavirus and even attended church services at least four times despite having symptoms typical of the disease.

The woman later tested positive for the virus on 18 Feb after which the number of cases in Daegu skyrocketed and the authorities started labelling her as a “super spreader”.

Then, the authorities discovered that most of the new Covid-19 patients were linked to the church, and details about the church’s unorthodox practices emerged.

For example, the church allegedly forbade worshippers from wearing glasses or masks. (For some reason, this church didn’t like people with poor vision).

Moreover, after the first coronavirus infection was reported among its members, they were told to lie about being followers, though the church later said this was not its policy.

Later on, at least 1,777 members who tested positive for Covid-19 reportedly refused to receive treatment, and another 1,000 of them refused to even be tested for the coronavirus.

It should also be noted that the church’s leader, Lee Man-hee, was arrested earlier this month after he allegedly hid information about the group’s members and gatherings from contact tracers.

He had previously apologised for sincerely for his church’s actions but was heavily criticised for wearing a gold watch which, apparently, means something special to the South Koreans.

A Surge in Cases & Worries About Lack of Hospital Beds Increasing

After nearly five months of having a relatively low number of infections, the number of Covid-19 cases in South Korea has been rising at an alarming rate, raising concerns about a worsening shortage of sickbeds, reported Reuters. 

299 cases were reported on Sunday (30 Aug), bring the country’s tally to 19,947.

The health ministry reported that just 4.5% of beds in greater Seoul were available for critical cases as of Friday (28 Aug).

This is 22% less than a week earlier.

Healthcare Workers on Strike

What isn’t helping the situation is that thousands of medical professionals across the country have been going on strike in the last few weeks.

The strikes are in protest of government plans to boost the usual medical school quota of 3,058 admissions each year by around 400, or 13%, over the next ten years.

This means there’ll be an addition 4,000 medical students in the next decade, something which has displeased healthcare workers, who believe it’s a poor use of government funds.

The Korean Medical Association (KMA), which helped organise the protest, argued that the country already has more than enough doctors.

They believe the funds should be used to improve poor medical infrastructure and work conditions instead.

As a result of the strikes, many clinics and hospitals have had to either close or shorten their hours.

The Health Ministry reportedly filed a police complaint against at least 10 doctors and ordered the rest to get back to work, but it seems unlikely that this will happen unless their demands are met.

Things are a little messy in South Korea at the moment, to say the least.

Meanwhile, for Korean drama and variety show fans out there, bad news, your favourite shows might be delayed because filming production has stopped temporarily.