A cult church leader claiming to be the Messiah could face “murder” charges in connection with the worst coronavirus outbreak outside of mainland China.

The majority of cases in South Korea — where the virus has killed at least 18 people and infected more than 3,700 — are thought to be members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

Officials have accused the church of exacerbating the outbreak by deliberately failing to provide an accurate list of its more than 200,000 worshippers and thus interfering with government attempts to curb the virus’ spread.

Amid growing public outrage, Seoul city government has filed a criminal complaint to prosecutors against the church’s leader Lee Man-hee — who himself is awaiting the result of a coronavirus test — and 11 other senior members.

Seoul’s mayor Park Won-soon alleged the church’s actions amounted to “murder through to willful negligence” in a widely shared Facebook post on Sunday, translated by the Korea Herald.

The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea Show all 11 1 /11 The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea Visitors with suspected symptoms of the new coronavirus, inside of a car, bottom right, get virus test by members of medical team as others queue in their cars at a "drive-through" test facility at Yeungnam University Medical Center in Daegu on 27 February 2020 AP The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea Workers move equipment into containers set up as a makeshift medical facility to accommodate COVID-19 patients at a hospital's grounds in Daegu, South Korea on Friday 28 February 2020 AP The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea People wait in line to buy face masks in front of a store at Dongseongro shopping district in Daegu on 27 February 2020 AFP via Getty Images The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea Medical workers wearing protective gears comfort each other outside a hospital in Daegu, South Korea, on 28 February 2020 REUTERS The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea Medical staff in protective gears arrive for a duty shift at Dongsan Hospital in Daegu South Korea on Friday 28 February 2020 AP The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea A South Korean health worker sprays disinfectant as part of preventive measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a residential area near the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu on 27 February 2020 AFP via Getty Images The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea A man wears a mask and goggles as he waits in line to buy face masks from a post office near the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu on 27 February 2020 AFP via Getty The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea South Korean medical workers wearing protective gear visit a residence of people with suspected symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus to take samples, near the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu on 27 February 2020 AFP via Getty Images The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea A South Korean health worker sprays disinfectant as part of preventive measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a residential area near the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu on 27 February 2020 AFP via Getty Images The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea A South Korean army vehicle sprays disinfectant on a road to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 in Daegu, South Korea on Thursday 27 February 2020. AP The response to Coronavirus in Daegu South Korea Troops set up makeshift partitions and beds at the Armed Forces Hospital in Daegu South Korea 28 February 2020 EPA

The legal complaint accuses the church leaders of homicide, causing harm and violating the Infectious Disease and Control Act, according to the BBC.

South Korean law follows the principle of dolus eventualis, meaning a person can be convicted of murder if they foresaw the possibility of their actions resulting in the death of someone but continued regardless.

The church —​ which teaches that only Mr Lee can interpret the Bible’s true meaning — strenuously denies all accusations and insists it is the victim of a “witch hunt”.

While followers believe Mr Lee is immortal and will take 144,000 people to heaven with him on Judgement Day, some former members have now turned on him.

This week, a group of former worshippers visited district prosecutors and alleged that “by submitting fake documents, he has impeded the government in its epidemiological efforts against the new coronavirus”, the Korea Times reported.

The church is also accused of lying about its missionary work in Wuhan, regarded as the outbreak’s epicentre.

South Korea’s justice ministry said on Saturday that 42 members of the church had entered the country from China since July, with some visiting Wuhan in January. The church had repeatedly denied making new converts in the Hubei city until last week.

The virus was first discovered to have infected a 61-year-old woman dubbed “Patient 31” who had attended services at the church’s Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony branch in the country’s fourth largest city, Daegu.

The city of 2.5 million people was swiflty put on lockdown, and was likened to a “zombie apocalypse” by one resident. While cases have been identified around the country, it remains the most affected city.

A second outbreak was then discovered at a hospital in Cheongdo county. It soon emerged that several of the church’s followers visited the hospital to attend a funeral for Mr Lee’s brother.

Shortly afterwards, the church said it had closed all of its 74 sanctuaries in South Korea and told followers to instead watch its services on YouTube.

“We are deeply sorry that because of one of our members, who thought of her condition as a cold because she had not travelled abroad, led to many in our church being infected and thereby caused concern to the local community,” it said in a statement.

At Shincheonji, attending church-related gatherings “isn’t an option, but a requirement,” Ji-il Tark, a professor of religion at Busan Presbyterian University in South Korea, previously told the Associated Press.

Mr Tark said Shincheonji followers are more vulnerable to virus infections as they often sit very closely together on the floor during services.

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While all of the church’s members have now been interviewed by officials, according to the BBC, roughly 9,000 of them are displaying symptoms.

While the church now acknowledges the virus, a recording emerged of one leader having previously said: “No Shincheonji member in Wuhan has contracted the virus thanks to their faith.”

As public anger over the outbreak grows, some members have said they fear being outed as Shincheonji followers.

“We’re being treated like criminals. We had a bad image before and now I think I’d be lynched if passers-by knew I belonged to Shincheonji,” 26-year-old Ji-yeon Park told The Guardian.