Church leader arrested in South Korea amid spate of virus infections

Virus Outbreak South Korea

South Korean prosecutors arrested the elderly leader of a secretive religious sect as part of an investigation into allegations that the church hampered the government’s anti-virus response after thousands of worshippers were infected in February and March.

Prosecutors in the central city of Suwaon have been questioning 88-year-old Lee Man-hee, chairman of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, over charges that the church hid some members and under-reported gatherings to avoid broader quarantines.