‘IT WAS LIKE HELL’
Doomsday cult leader caged for torturing followers after members ‘forced to beat loved ones’ to ‘drive out demons’
A DOOMSDAY cult leader has been jailed for torturing her followers after members alleged they were "forced to beat loved ones" to "drive out demons".
Cult founder, South Korean woman Shin Ok-ju, convinced her 400 followers to move to Fiji and held them there under the pretence they would be safe from imminent natural disasters.
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Members of the Grace Road Church allege their passports were then confiscated and many were subjected to beatings and brutal rituals aimed at driving out evil spirits.
Followers who escaped the compound told journalists members were subjected to severe public beatings known as “ground thrashings" if they attempted to leave the church.
Shin was found to have "absolute authority over the followers" and the violent acts were "unable to be carried out without her directions", the reported.
A statement from the Anyang sub-court of the Suwon District Court read: "Her responsibility is very heavy".
The court heard the followers were forced into labour and church sermons and lived in fear of being subjected to public beatings as a "means to control the victims".
A former follower told South Korean news programme JTBC they witnessed "a son beat his father 100 to 200 times at a ground thrashing session".
They are being treated as if they were farm oxen rather than human beings … It was like hell there
Former church member
A separate witness said they saw another follower hit more than 600 times and claimed he died after returning home to South Korea.
The witness said: “They are being treated as if they were farm oxen rather than human beings … It was like hell there."
District Court spokeswoman, Judge Kang Yun-hye, said five other church officials were also given sentences ranging from 42 months in prison to a suspended sentence.
Some church followers attended the trial and protested angrily after Shin's jail sentence was handed down.
One follower shouted: “This is outrageous! Tell them (the victims) to stop lying. Knock it off! We are all angry.”
What is the Grace Road Church cult?
Shin Ok-ju founded the Grace Road Church as a branch of Christianity.
She predicted a great famine would befall the Korean peninsular and believed her followers would only be safe from the impending disaster in Fiji.
In 2014, the Church established a range of businesses across the small Pacific island in industries ranging from construction to agriculture.
A chain of nine restaurants called The Grace Road Kitchen are run by the Church across the country.
In July last year, Shin and three other Church members were arrested on charges of forced confinement and physical assault.
Some 400 followers are said to be stranded in Fiji.
South Korean authorities said many followers were stripped of their passports upon arrival by senior members of the church.
The Church has also been accused of maintaining connections at the highest levels of the Fiji government.
Statement from the Church
A statement from the Church, as reported by , said: "GR Group is a group of Christians who see, hear, believe, and act by the Bible.
"We listened to the Words of God though our reverend, gathered from all over the world, and moved to Fiji for the God-given vision.
"We believe that Fiji is the promised land hidden in the Bible, beautiful and pristine land blessed by God.
"Those, who wish to slander us, have created unspeakable lies about passport confiscation, forced labor, incarceration, and violence.
"Because we are enraged by blasphemy of the name of God and dishonoring our reverend and GR Group, 400 of us want to speak up that all these are not true.
"All the stories reported in the media are not true and we have evidences to disprove. God shall let the truth be known to the entire world soon."
South Korea's bizarre cults
About half of South Korea’s population of 50million identify as Protestants or Catholics but several million belong to cult-like or fringe belief groups.
In November last year, another South Korean cult leader was jailed for 15 years for raping his followers "on God's orders".
Pastor Lee Jae-rock, 75, preyed on brainwashed young women who believed they would go to heaven if they submitted to him.
He raped at least eight followers - who had been members of the cult since childhood - after telling them he was carrying out "an order from God".
Victims believed Lee was "a divine being who wields divine power" and said they felt compelled to do what he asked because, to them, he was God.
Another group known as The Moonies has also been accused of being a cult in its unique take on Christianity believing that world peace can be attained through the creation of "true families".
The formally known Unification Church was founded by Sun Myung Moon in 1954
South Korean cult leader Lee Jae-rock, jailed for raping followers, gives prayer asking for God to 'bring dead back to life'
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