South Korean Church Leader Faces Murder Charge Over Spread Of Coronavirus

The leader of a Christian sect at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak in South Korea is facing criminal charges, including murder, for allegedly obstructing efforts to control the spread of the virus.

Lee Man-Hee, the founder and spiritual leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus as well as 12 of his followers are being accused of withholding the names of sect members who may have been infected with the virus.

Prosecutors in Seoul say the sect violated laws related to stopping the spread of infectious diseases, and should therefore be considered responsible for the deaths of some of the victims.

Some members of the sect had reportedly visited the central Chinese city of Wuhan, which is the epicenter of the outbreak and the first place where the virus was recorded, in January.

However, The church said it had closed all of its branches throughout South Korea and handed over the names of all of its members to the authorities.

South Korea has seen the number of confirmed coronavirus cases increase drastically in the last week.

The number jumped again to more than 4,000 on Monday. Twenty-two people have died.

Lee, who is 88, on Monday apologized for not reacting to the outbreak quickly enough.

He said: “It wasn’t our intention, but many people were infected,’’