A conservative civic group said Friday it has canceled plans to hold a 1,000-person outdoor worship service this weekend in response to a police ban on large-scale rallies.

Choi In-sik, secretary general of the August 15 People's Emergency Response Committee, said the Sunday service was canceled because any legal steps to reverse the ban would likely not be processed in time.

"We decided to apply with the Seoul Administrative Court for a stay of execution for the service planned for the following Sunday," Choi told Yonhap News Agency by phone.

The committee had planned to set up 1,000 chairs on the sidewalks and roads north of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, for the worship services led by its Protestant church members.

Police banned both services on Thursday, citing the risk of coronavirus transmission. The decision came after the Seoul metropolitan government eased its ban on rallies to allow fewer than 100 people instead of fewer than 10.

"The Moon Jae-in government is using COVID-19 as an excuse to ban both worship services and rallies through an administrative order," Choi said at a press conference held at Gwanghwamun Square later in the day. "This is intolerable."

Freedom Alliance, another conservative civic group, has announced plans to hold a 90-person rally on Saturday, including a march to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

Both groups have organized downtown rallies to condemn the liberal Moon government, including a massive demonstration on Liberation Day on Aug. 15 that led to a spike in coronavirus cases in the country.

Later attempts to hold rallies on national holidays on Oct. 3 and Oct. 9 were thwarted by a police blockade. (Yonhap)