Seoul city on Friday, September 18 announced plans to sue Sarang-jeil Church and its lead pastor Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon for damages relating to a coronavirus outbreak linked to the religious group in August.

In a news release, the city government said it will ask Jun and his church for 4.6 billion Korean won ($4 million) to make up for the cost of Covid-19 treatment, subsidy for self-isolation, and operating cost of treatment centers, CNN reports.

The city government estimates that the church's outbreak in Seoul cost national agencies and companies like Seoul Metro and National Health Insurance Service about 8.48 billion Korean won ($7.3 million).

The Sarang-jeil Church attracted widespread backlash in August when it became the center of a coronavirus outbreak. At least 1,168 Covid-19 cases in South Korea have been linked to the church, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.