Shincheonji News - Media

Shincheonji Gives Back to COVID-19 Patients;
Stands at the Forefront of Treatment Research

Almost a year has flown by since the beginning of the pandemic. In the mission to bring an end to COVID-19, to restore the health, and well-being of our friends and family to restore our global community, Shincheonji members are at the forefront of donating plasma for COVID-19 research. Let us together join in this cause.

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Almost a year has flown by since the beginning of the pandemic. In the mission to bring an end to COVID19, to restore the health, and well-being of our friends and family to restore our global community, Shincheonji members are at the forefront of donating plasma for COVID19 research. Let us together join in this cause.

4,000 Recovered COVID-19 Church Members in South Korea Donate $83 Billion Worth of Plasma for Cure

More than 4,000 members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus offered to donate plasma for research purposes after recovering from COVID-19. If each person donates 500 mL of blood, the amount will be worth about $83 Billion.

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Church members are donating blood in an effort to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. More than 4,000 members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus offered to donate plasma for research purposes after recovering from COVID-19. If each person donates 500 milliliters of blood, the total amount will be worth about $83 Billion.

Voluntarily donating plasma was encouraged by the founder of the church, which is based in South Korea. An official from a biopharmaceutical company said, “It is difficult to accelerate developing a medicine for COVID-19 with only 200 recovered patients who expressed their will to donate blood. The massive donation from the recovered patients in the Shincheonji Church will solve the problem of the lack of blood for research.”

In February, the 31st person in Korea to test positive for COVID-19 was a Shincheonji member in the city of Daegu. The church was blamed for the outbreak, despite the proof that others contracted the virus first.

Students from Wuhan China, where the virus first appeared, visited Daegu in January. Investigations followed after the discovery of the patient 31, and Shincheonji Church was wrongfully accused of multiple crimes.

Recently, the city of Daegu sued the church for around $80 million, claiming that, it did not cooperate with local authorities and didn’t submit a full list of facilities and members. But the Church says it did its best to compile with the requests.

Leaders say there was a delay in reporting due to closing of church offices and consent needed from members before sharing certain detail. Though it has been criticized by local authorities for spreading the virus, the Shincheonji Church wants their blood donations to save the lives of many people.

Shincheonji members who have fully recovered from COVID-19 decided to donate their plasma

Shincheonji members who have fully recovered from COVID-19 decided to donate their plasma. More than 500 members have decided to donate their plasma, which will be used to develop a cure for COVID-19.

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Church members are donating blood in an effort to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. More than 4,000 members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus offered to donate plasma for research purposes after recovering from COVID-19. If each person donates 500 milliliters of blood, the total amount will be worth about $83 Billion.

Voluntarily donating plasma was encouraged by the founder of the church, which is based in South Korea. An official from a biopharmaceutical company said, “It is difficult to accelerate developing a medicine for COVID-19 with only 200 recovered patients who expressed their will to donate blood. The massive donation from the recovered patients in the Shincheonji Church will solve the problem of the lack of blood for research.”

In February, the 31st person in Korea to test positive for COVID-19 was a Shincheonji member in the city of Daegu. The church was blamed for the outbreak, despite the proof that others contracted the virus first.

Students from Wuhan China, where the virus first appeared, visited Daegu in January. Investigations followed after the discovery of the patient 31, and Shincheonji Church was wrongfully accused of multiple crimes.

Recently, the city of Daegu sued the church for around $80 million, claiming that, it did not cooperate with local authorities and didn’t submit a full list of facilities and members. But the Church says it did its best to compile with the requests.

Leaders say there was a delay in reporting due to closing of church offices and consent needed from members before sharing certain detail. Though it has been criticized by local authorities for spreading the virus, the Shincheonji Church wants their blood donations to save the lives of many people.

The Spread Of COVID-19 In A Church In South Korea Proves Useful In Studying The Virus

A reputable virologist suggests that the spread in Shincheonji Church of Jesus may have helped to jumpstart the country’s response to coronavirus and provide a data set to study the spread of the disease on a larger scale.

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A reputable virologist suggests that the spread in Shincheonji Church of Jesus may have helped to jumpstart the country’s response to coronavirus and provide a data set to study the spread of the disease on a larger scale.

The coronavirus has been making its way across the world with deadly force. Dr. Hamkim Djaballah, a virologist who is the CEO of Keren Therapeutics and the former CEO of the Pasteur institute Korea,said in a recent interview with the Korea Times that the COVID-19 is uncharted territory” because this virus behave differently than other viruses. It is much more infectious and lethal as the virus has left China and has mutated into different strains that have spread across the world, and this fact has made it more difficult to track and understand.

According to Dr.Djaballah, the virus that woke up in Italy is much more aggressive than the one that left the plane in China. What’s going on in Italy today, we can plot on an exponential curve.

At one point South Korea also saw an exponential increase in new cases when it was spreading among members of Shincheonji. Dr.Djaballah said, “I think the Korean government and the Korean people should be grateful for this church, because this church provided us the first data of this very very directional spread.”

What has made it difficult to truly understand the evolution of the virus is the lack of information about the early victims in China and the way it has passed from person to person. Dr.Djaballah continued, “I think what that church did is forced the Moon government, they forced their hands to go out now and throw away all definitions of who to test for and what to look for and say, ‘we’re going to look for everybody.’”

Because the virus spread so rapidly throughout the congregation, the Korean Centers for Disease Control had to redesign their strategy to track down potential patients. And this may have eventually stemmed the tide of new infections. Seeing how it was spread within this group of people can provide information that the other countries and the scientific community can learn from.

Church Leader Thanks Members for Plasma Donation As COVID-19 Cure Search Continues

Members of a church based in South Korea are donating plasma in mass, hoping to put an end to the coronavirus. In response, the church leader thanked his congregation members in a heartfelt letter.

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Members of a church based in South Korea are donating plasma in mass, hoping to put an end to the coronavirus. In response, the church leader thanked his congregation members in a heartfelt letter.

Lee Man-hee, chairman of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, titled his letter, “To the beloved members of Daegu Church.” The branch in Daegu is the church most affected by COVID-19.

More than 4,000 members of the Shincheonji Church have agreed to donate plasma to support coronavirus research efforts. In total donations are expected to be worth about 83 billion dollars.

The news comes at a time when finding plasma donors has been difficult. The donation could put researchers a step closer to finding a COVID-19 Vaccine.

The letter of appreciation reads, “To the beloved members of Daegu Church, you all are working hard. Are you all well? I am chairman Lee Man-Hee. To the members of Daegu church, I was delighted upon hearing the news of your intent to actively participate in donating plasma (blood) for the development of the vaccine for the cure of COVID-19. I believe that you are the ones who received the blood of Jesus. I am very thankful to the government, which took charge of preventing the spread of COVID-19 and providing treatment for it. This is not something our church could not resolve. Our members have received the blood of life of Jesus, the Son of God, and have been freed from sin. Like Jesus, through our blood donation, I know that you have gathered your hearts in our collective wish to free all the people of the world from the pains of this disease. I was touched when I heard that many members of Daegu church expressed their intent to voluntarily donate plasma. Indeed, you are the disciples who received the blood of Jesus. This is the work that needs to be done as citizens of this country and as true believers. It is keeping the command of Jesus of living your neighbor as yourself, and I am thankful that you have gathered your hearts for this good work and in making this decision that is like the light. Let us all pray in the name of Jesus to exterminate COVID-19.”

Members Face Abuse As Attacks Against a Church Accused of Spreading the Coronavirus Drag On

Two members of a church accused of spreading COVID-19 have died after reportedly facing abuse from family.
A 60-year-old member of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus died March 26 after allegedly falling from her villa in Ulsan, South Korea.

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Two members of a church accused of spreading COVID-19 have died after reportedly facing abuse from family.
A 60-year-old member of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus died March 26 after allegedly falling from her villa in Ulsan, South Korea.

A second member, a 41-year-old woman, died April 9, also after falling from her apartment building.

Police are still investigating both cases to determine the exact cause of death. Before they died, both women were said to have faced persecution as a result of their ties to the Shincheonji church.

The 60 year old Shincheonji member died at a hospital after her fall, her husband had reportedly been abusing over time, and had a tendency to cut her hair and thrown at her with a knife, the victim’s younger sister who attends the same church said, “my sister was dealing with the abuse well even while she was attending the church. However, this tragedy was caused by worsened public opinion against Shincheonji with this coronavirus incident.”

The 41 year old victim and Shincheonji member who died also faced criticism from family for her religious beliefs and practices. Her husband had reportedly set curfews and assaulted her multiple times leaving behind bruises. Shincheonji has been at the center of mainstream media reports about the coronavirus since February.

Countless false reports hold Shincheonji solely responsible for transmitting the virus in South Korea. But evidence proves others outside the church had tested positive for the virus beforehand.
Criticism of the church has resulted in many personal attack the congregation members, which some are calling hate crimes .

South Koreans, like residents of countries like the United States, have the right to freedom of religion.
Park Sang Byeong, a political critic said, “As the government puts the blame for the coronavirus incidents on Shincheonji, it is true that Shincheonji believers were subjected to considerable discrimination and human rights abuses”

Infringement on Religious Freedom - Shincheonji and Coronavirus

After a number of members were diagnosed with covid 19, there have been growing number of instances of discrimination against Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a growing South Korean Christian movement.

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The church was founded by Lee Man Hee, who is considered as a messenger whose teachings include eternal peace and life, known as the millennium by many Christians.

The church has seen explosive growth in the recent years, close to 200,000 members in South Korea.

Patient 31 of the Corona Virus crisis in South Korea was a congregation member of Shincheonji. Since she was not aware of her condition, she continued to attend many church events and infected those who were around her. At a certain point, half of the confirmed cases in Daegu, South Korea were members of the congregation.

After patient 31’s status was announced, the church immediately suspended their activities. At the government request they provided the names of all of its members as well as the students

It is important to note that there were confirmed cases of the virus before Patient 31.

Additionally around the 1,000 Chinese students had just entered Daegu for a school trip. Medical officials had been urging the government to consider closing its borders to those traveling from China. However in the swirl of the Panic, the scramble to control the spread and misinformation of the virus’ origins Shincheonji was an easy scapegoat. Much fake news has been spread about Shincheonji, including claims that “members were told not to report to hospitals,” that the church believes “its members cannot really be infected as they are protected by God,” and that infected members intentionally infect others.

None of these rumors align with the group’s beliefs, the last rumor proved especially dangerous, when a group of government workers was handing out masks in Daegu, they were beaten up because an SMS text chain told the surrounding population that the workers were Shincheonji members intentionally spreading the virus to others.
Because of this demonization in the media any members choose to conceal their involvement in the group to the fears of discrimination. When the list of names given to the government was partially leaked, some who were on the list faced public ridicule, beatings, and even loss of employment.

The South Korean government is facing immense pressure to implicate Shincheonji in its Corona Virus crisis. Government officials allege that the church leaders did not hand over a full list of members, impeding efforts to investigate and curtail the outbreak.

Because of this, the government is pursuing charges of murder through willful negligence against the church leaders and the public opinions rages against the church

More than one million people have signed the petition on the presidential offices website to dissolve the group entirely.

As Hysteria continues to grow and South Korea struggles to contain the spread and treatment of the virus, violence and misinformation will only persist and grow.

Various religious freedom group such as Cesnur and USCIRF have already spoken out in concern for the treatment of Shincheonji believers.

Those who are interested in preserving freedom of religion must also speak out against the discrimination, violence, and scapegoating being faced by this group of people because of their religious practices

Stay tuned for more factual coverage on this channel

How the Deadly Coronavirus Spread Quickly Outside of China

There are over 60 countries with confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of March 3, 2020, according to the CDC.

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There are over 60 countries with confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of March 3, 2020, according to the CDC

Early on the dangers of the coronavirus were largely ignored, the possibility of contracting the virus was said to be low at first. Many groups traveled into South Korea directly from China where the virus emerged.

This happened even though there were dozens of confirmed Coronavirus cases in cities like Shanghai. Still, there were no government restrictions keeping people from entering through the airport in Daegu, South Korea.

At end of January, dozens of Chinese tourists were seen snapping pictures in front of a Korean Cathedral. Less than half of them covered their mouths with masks.

South Korea’s own president downplayed the gravity of the spread of the disease during a discussion he reportedly say that the corona virus would soon come to an end.

Weeks later the numbers of new infections in Korea soared, the New York Times noted that the Korea’s president had begun to face political backlash. Critiscs questioned, whether they could trust the way he was handling the spread of the virus.

Major News outlets linked the virus outbreak in Daegu to one religious group, the Shincheonji church of Jesus. It has been said that this church is the main culprit responsible for spreading the disease in Korea.

But reports clearly indicate that this is not true.
Thirty people were found to be infected with the coronavirus in South Korea before any church members became sick. So far, little effort has been put into identifying the true source of the deadly virus in the country.

Many mainstream medias worldwide are misinformed of its source.
Stay tuned for more factual coverage on this channel

Religious Liberty Groups Defend Church Blamed for Spreading the Coronavirus

A Church based in South Korea has been accused of spreading the coronavirus. Groups are condemning the allegations, calling them an attack on religious freedom.

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On March 5th, 2020, the United States commission on International Religious Freedom released a statement on Twitter, “we are concerned by reports that Shincheonji church members are being blamed for the spread of the coronavirus and we urged the South Korean government to condemn scapegoating and to respect religious freedom as a response to the outbreak the tweet says.

The Religious group mentioned in the tweet, “The Shincheonji Church of Jesus has been at the center of global news reports for weeks, ever since it was revealed that a 61-year-old church member, known as Patient 31, had contracted the virus

Patient 31 attended two church services before realizing she had the coronavirus. She did not become sick from traveling outside the country

Concerns about the ill treatment of Shincheonji church members were also expressed in a letter sent by Italy’s center for Studies on New religions and eight other groups promoting religious liberty and human rights. The letter titled coronavirus and Shincheonj: stopping the witch hunt was addressed to the UN high commissioner of Human right and the U.S. ambassador at the large for international Religious Freedom. The letter asks for UN, the US, and the international community to prevent intolerance discrimination and violence against members of Shincheonji.

Accusations about the Shincheonji church being shared by many media outlets are amounting to be nothing more than false reports. A photo of a woman circulating around the internet who appeared to be patient 31 was not actually her, police discovered. The Daegu police office announced that there would be consequences for the people responsible for spreading fake news

Coronavirus Spreads Worldwide, But One Church Is Still Said To Be At Fault

Worldwide, confirmed cases of the coronavirus add up to nearly 300,000, as of March 21, according to John Hopkins University. The virus, which first appeared in China, has spread rapidly.

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Worldwide, confirmed cases of the coronavirus add up to nearly 300,000, as of March 21, according to John Hopkins University

The virus, which first appeared in China, has spread rapidly.
Italy now has the highest number of deaths from the COVID-19 out of any country. People living there and in places like Spain and France are under some form of the lockdown. Even in America, states like New York and California told residents to stay home unless they need essentials like groceries, a similar rule is in effect in Illinois, a home to the 3rd largest city in the United States.

The threat of the outbreak has lessened in China and also in South Korea, which once had the second highest number of infections. Even though the coronavirus has become a global pandemic, one church is still being accused of spreading it in South Korea.

Many accusations against this religious group, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, are false, still the media continues to put out inaccurate reports. A problem that plagues the whole world has been called a “Shincheoji incident,” a phrase used recently by an official.

Much effort was put into finding Shincheonji church members and forcing them to be tested, while little energy was put into other tasks.
No one has tracked down the source of the infection at a hospital where 119 people contracted the coronavirus, of these people seven people have passed away. There is also evidence that other mistakes were made when the outbreak first appeared in South Korea.

Suggestions made by medical experts to block people from entering from China were ignored. Patient 31, a member of the Shincheonji Church was called a “super carrier.”

But a little attention has been given to earlier patients including nurses who said they had high fevers, since February 7th. These cases weren’t made public until February 15th. But it is possible that the nurses had been sick since the end of January, when Chinese tourists visited parts of South Korea.

Shincheonji News - In the Press

Shincheonji Church Gathers the Faith Community to Bring Hope Through Prayer

Victory in Unity: How a California Church is Fighting Against COVID-19 with Prayer and Plasma

Shincheonji Collaborates with Korean Government for Large-Scale Plasma Donations towards COVID-19 Research

4,000 Recovered COVID-19 Church Members in South Korea Declare Donation of $83 Billion Worth Plasma for Cure

Shincheonji members who survived COVID-19 volunteer en masse to aid vaccine development

Lee Man-hee writes a letter regarding Shincheonji members’ plasma donation