Lee Man-hee, the president of South Korea's "Xintiandi" church, who was indicted on suspicion of obstructing the epidemic prevention law, was acquitted by the court of first instance on January 13.
This judgment aroused strong doubts and dissatisfaction from South Korean netizens and some groups.
In August 2020, Lee Man-hee was arrested and prosecuted by South Korean prosecutors on suspicion of obstructing the Epidemic Prevention Law, and was granted bail in November.
According to Yonhap News Agency’s report on the 13th, the Suwon District Court stated on the same day that the epidemic prevention authorities required the "Xintiandi" church to submit the facilities and the list of believers. It can only be regarded as data collection and cannot be regarded as epidemiological investigation work. It cannot be punished as a violation of the "Infectious Disease Prevention Law".
The court stated that according to the "Infectious Disease Prevention Law", the epidemiological investigation work was carried out to grasp the scale of infectious disease patients, trace the source of infection and other information, and investigate the information related to the patient, the date and location of onset, and the cause of infection.
The content submitted by the "Xintiandi" church requested by the epidemic prevention authority does not fall within the scope of epidemiological investigations in the legal sense.
The "Xintiandi" victims who reported Li Wanxi to the prosecutor held a press conference that day to strongly condemn the court's decision, saying it was "a heavy blow" to the families of the victims.
(Edit Zeng Chen)
Editor in charge: 【Luo Pan】