Fijian Immigration Minister Pio Tikoduadua told reporters they had successfully deported two of the six leaders back to South Korea while two more had challenged the action in court and had been temporarily released back to a Grace Road farm. He said one of those released was Grace Road’s acting president, Lee Sung Jin.
The move represented a change in attitude toward the sect’s leaders under Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, whoin December. Fiji’s previous leader, Frank Bainimarama, had embraced the economic successes of the church. “Grace Road as a company has invested heavily in Fiji. We recognize that and we appreciate that,” Tikoduadua said. “But that does not mean to say that things are not being questioned by everybody.”In 2019, a South Korean court found that, in Fiji, Shin forced her followers to work without pay. The work included farming, hairdressing, construction, and restaurant services. They lived together at a facility that separated family members as well as men and women, the court found.