South Korea, the founder of the New Heavenly Sect was asked by Seoul authorities to investigate an alleged murder related to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Seoul city authorities yesterday asked prosecutors to investigate leader Lee Man-hee and other top leaders of the New Heavenly sect on murder and other criminal charges. They believe that Tan Thien Dia has contributed to the increasing number of deaths from Covid-19 by failing to provide an accurate list of members and intervening in the government's anti-epidemic efforts.

Nearly 60% of current nCoV infections in South Korea are also members of Tan Thien Dia in Daegu city or their related people. In a Facebook post, Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon said the cult's behavior is equivalent to "intentional murder".

Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to initiate an investigation with Mr. Lee and the leaders of New Tianjin. The sectarian leaders have not provided any feedback on the information. Earlier, Tan Thien Dia confirmed that they were fully cooperating with the authorities and claimed to be "victims of hatred" due to the epidemic.

South Korean officials said several sect members went to Wuhan, China, where the Covid-19 originated in January. Tan Thien Dia admits having members in Wuhan but said no one has come to Korea since December last year.

South Korea is currently the second largest outbreak of Covid-19 in the world after mainland China with more than 3,700 positive cases of nCoV and 21 deaths. Nearly 80 countries have restricted entry for travelers from South Korea with bans or quarantine tighter due to disease concerns.