Representatives of the Sarang Jeil Church said at a press conference outside the church in Seongbuk, a district in northern Seoul, that the police, under the direction of the city office, forcibly entered the church in trying to obtain information for contact tracing Thursday. The fierce stand-off between church officials and the police lasted nearly 10 hours.

“We will take legal action against Seoul officials for ordering the police search,” they said.

History seems to be repeating itself in the country’s newfound plight in battle against the virus as cases escalate among religious groups. At the pandemic’s initial peak in late February, the coronavirus had spread mainly through followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu.

The latest outbreak among worshippers at the Seoul church is the second-biggest cluster of COVID-19 in Korea -- behind Shincheonji’s over 5,200 -- with at least 739 confirmed cases as of Friday morning. The church’s pastor, Rev. Jung Kwang-hoon, was diagnosed with the disease Monday after claiming he was healthy at a Saturday rally attended by hundreds in central Seoul.

The church is accused of withholding key details and refusing to cooperate with public health officials, with its leaders claiming their freedom to worship is threatened by the new government orders. The government on Tuesday placed a ban on in-person services and gatherings at churches in the Seoul area.

Christian groups say the ban violates their right to practice their faith. In a message to its members, the Communion of Churches in Korea said Thursday that the orders were “not acceptable” and that “services cannot be stopped.” “Church is essential,” it said.

Health authorities say certain worship activities such as singing together can increase the likelihood of coronavirus transmission. 

“Singing and chanting may cause respiratory droplets to travel further than talking,” said Kwon Jun-wook, the deputy director of the state disease control agency, in a briefing. Last month, 11 people who attended choir practice at a church in Songpa, southern Seoul, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Politicians have denounced the church for failing to comply with safety guidelines.

In a Facebook statement posted Thursday evening, former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party said Jun’s church “appears incapable of redeeming itself” and that its defiance of public health orders “borders on antisocial crime.”

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Bu-gyeom, who is contending for the party’s chairmanship, issued an even more strongly worded statement the same day, calling the church “a group of far-right terrorists waging biological warfare against the country.”

Meanwhile, some experts worry that the finger-pointing could making contact tracing harder. 

“From Shincheonji to nightclubs to churches, the subject of anger seems to be shifting as the pandemic unfolds,” said infectious disease specialist Dr. Lee Jacob of Hallym University Hospital in Gyeonggi Province. “But blaming will only make it harder for people to seek testing.”

Dr. Kim Dong-hyun, president of the Korean Society of Epidemiology, said fear of public criticism can intimidate people into deferring needed medical attention. “People should be allowed to get tested without being exposed,” he said.