A Seoul court has ruled that places of worship in the capital city can hold small-sized in-person gatherings as long as they abide by quarantine rules, raising the possibility of contradicting a ban on such services by the Seoul Metropolitan Government amid the fourth pandemic wave. 

The Seoul Administrative Court on Friday partially accepted an appeal to suspend the execution of the municipal government’s ban. The appeal was filed by seven churches in Seoul and their pastors on Tuesday. 

Under the court’s ruling, religious groups in Seoul will be allowed to hold in-person services as long as 20 or fewer people attend each service at 10 percent of the maximum capacity. 

The court, however, ensured strict distancing rules should be kept, such as sitting apart from others, entry restrictions on those showing symptoms, keeping entry logs and keeping masks on. 

Religious groups who violated quarantine rules or gathering bans in the past or were closed for an outbreak before will still not be allowed to hold in-person services. 

The court cited fairness with other multi-use facilities such as department stores, wedding halls and funeral parlors in the capital that have not been subject to an outright business suspension. 

Earlier, the Seoul Metropolitan Government had banned all in-person services at religious centers as part of efforts to counter the fourth wave of the pandemic in the region.