Firebrand pastor of South Korean church tests positive for COVID-19

SEOUL, South Korea — A controversial South Korean pastor who defied public health authorities to hold services and massive anti-government rallies despite the COVID-19 pandemic has tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Monday.

The church led by the Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon has been at the center of a growing cluster of cases in the capital, Seoul, which until recently had avoided large numbers of coronavirus infections despite a population of 10 million. More than 300 members of Jun’s 4,000-member Sarang Jeil Church have tested positive for the virus thus far, according to authorities.

South Korea has been struggling to keep a lid on outbreaks in the densely populated greater Seoul area — in offices, fast food restaurants and markets, but especially in some of the country’s large churches. On Monday, the country reported 197 new infections, the fourth day in a row of cases in triple digits.

The 64-year-old Rev. Jun is a firebrand right-wing pastor with a fervent following who has been waging a caustic public battle against South Korean President Moon Jae-in, particularly for his conciliatory North Korea policies. Rev. Jun is out on bail after being arrested on suspicion of election-related charges and of flouting orders from health authorities with his mass gatherings.

His positive coronavirus test result comes after he spoke at a densely packed conservative rally in central Seoul on Saturday. Rev. Jun and his followers were among thousands who crowded the downtown area, clashing with police.

On stage, after first pulling his mask down to his chin and then taking it off to hold up in the air, Rev. Jun asserted that the outbreak among church members was a conspiracy to undermine him, claiming that the virus had been intentionally brought into his congregation by outsiders.

For his part, Mr. Moon expressed concern that some churches at the center of outbreaks had not been cooperative with regard to testing and contact tracing, putting the country at risk.

“It’s senseless behavior that throws cold water on the long effort by the Korean people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” the president wrote on social media Sunday.

Rev. Jun’s invective against Mr. Moon — whom he once likened to Hitler — has made him controversial even among Christian leaders, but it has also earned him a steady base of support, especially among older South Koreans critical of Mr. Moon and his approach to North Korea. Rev. Jun has been openly defiant of coronavirus-related restrictions on church services or gatherings from the onset of the pandemic.

In February, when South Korea was first seeing a spike in cases, he told thousands of followers at a massive rally that they shouldn’t be afraid of the virus.

“Has anyone here been infected? Come to services next week,” he said at the time. “God will heal it all.”