The jailing in South Korea of a cult leader found guilty of imprisoning hundreds of followers in Fiji is unlikely to end their plight.
The leader of Grace Road Church, Shin Ok-ju, was jailed for six years last Tuesday, along with five of the cult's leaders.
To them, Fiji was the promised land, and hundreds of followers cashed up their life savings to head there.
When they arrived, they were forced to endure ritual beatings and slave labour at Grace Road's extensive network of businesses in Fiji.
An expert in Korean cults, Ji-il Tark from Busan University, says those businesses had extensive links with the Fiji government, which conferred legitimacy to the cult.
Professor Tark told Jamie Tahana that that means Grace Road is unlikely to end in Fiji any time soon.
Shin Ok-ju, the founder of Grace Road Church, was jailed in South Korea in 2019 for enslaving some 400 followers in Fiji. Photo: Grace Road Church
