SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2020) South Koreans have filed an online petition with the presidential administration, demanding that the Christian sect behind the recent spike in coronavirus cases be closed.
"Considering a significant negative impact that illegal activities of the Shincheonji sect are having on the constitutional order, its dissolution would benefit efforts to protect the constitution," the text reads.
The petition has been signed by over 270,000 people at the time of writing, which is enough to warrant an official response from the administration.
The Shincheonji Church of Jesus sect's branch in the city of Daegu has been identified as a hotbed for the COVID-19 respiratory disease. Thousands of its followers have been told to self-isolate.
South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the number of infections on Sunday to 602, after 46 more cases were detected since this morning. Twelve of the new cases are linked to the sect.
