2014 forced labor case back in spotlight after US import ban on Korea's largest salt farm, Taepyung
A salt farm owner in Sinan-gun, South Jeolla Province, who was convicted of assaulting a worker and withholding 60 million won (approximately $42,200) in wages, is currently serving as a member of the county council, according to local reports Thursday.
The individual in question was involved in a notorious forced labor case that drew national outrage in 2014, known locally as the “Sinan salt farm slavery” case. At the time, police rescued two men with disabilities who had been confined, beaten and forced to work without pay for years.
In a recent episode of the SBS investigative program "Exclusive Discovery," attorneys Kim Jong-chul and Choi Jung-kyu — who represent victims of salt farm forced labor — criticized what they called lenient sentencing and ongoing failures to protect the survivors.
According to attorney Kim, another victim came forward in 2021, describing similar abuse. He said forced labor had continued in the area largely because the perpetrators received minimal punishment.
Of the 36 salt farm owners indicted for labor violations after 2014, only one was sentenced to prison — serving just one year and two months — while most received suspended sentences or were acquitted due to insufficient evidence, Kim said.
The farm owner who was found to be currently serving as a member of the Sinan-gun council was sentenced to one year in prison suspended for three years. He was convicted of offering a man with an IQ of 79 an annual income of 4 million won (around $2,800), while withholding 60 million won in wages and physically assaulting him.
This owner, before the conviction, had served as vice chair of the Sinan council and was elected to the seat in both 2018 and 2022. He remains in office today.
The issue of forced labor in Sinan's salt farm industry drew renewed international attention this month after the US imposed import restrictions on sea salt products from Taepyung Salt Farm, the largest salt farm in Korea.
On April 2, the US Customs and Border Protection agency issued a Withhold Release Order against Taepyung Salt Farm, citing the use of forced labor. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said this week that the facility no longer engages in such practices. “All sea salt currently exported to the United States from Taepyung Salt Farm is produced without any involvement of forced labor,” a ministry official said Monday.
shinjh@heraldcorp.com
