The government has filed complaints against members of a Seoul-based church, accusing them of being uncooperative with health authorities’ COVID-19 containment measures despite hundreds of coronavirus cases linked to the religious group.

The Sarang Jeil Church, led by far-right pastor Jun Kwang-hoon, has been in hot water for failing to cooperate with government contact tracing efforts by omitting or falsifying the contacts of some church members from the list it submitted to health officials.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, 56 new cases linked to the church were reported as of 6 p.m. Thursday, bringing the total to 732.

Of some 4,066 members and visitors to the church, 3,415 people have undergone diagnostic tests.

Representatives of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the National Police Agency visited the church together Thursday and Friday morning to secure more accurate contact lists but failed to do so due to resistance from church members.

“Complaints have been lodged against church officials. We plan to secure contact lists through a raid by an investigative agency,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said during a briefing.

He didn’t elaborate on details about individuals who were the subject of complaints.

The involvement of the investigative force came as the country is seeing a resurgence in the number of new COVID-19 cases since last week, with many of them traced to the church and to a mass rally that took place Aug. 15 in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. The total number of new cases over the past eight days -- since Aug. 14, when the country began reporting three-digit daily figures -- reached 1,900.

“As more Sarang Jeil church members and participants of the Gwanghwamun rally have been found to have contracted the virus across the country, we see an increasing number of daily new cases from broad regions,” Kim said.

Concerns are mounting over the rapid secondary spread of the virus within the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area and to other areas of the country.

“The current trend shows that the virus is spreading across the country, as 12 cities and provinces have reported new patients so far. We also confirmed virus transmissions to 18 sites including workplaces, medical institutions and other religious facilities.”

Kim warned of stern punishment such as seeking compensation for damages from those who obstruct the government’s virus control measures by refusing the testing and quarantine protocols.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)