Lawyer warns of supply chain risks tied to forced labor in Korea and overseas
Speaking at the forum 'Addressing Forced Labor in Global Supply Chains,' co-hosted by the National Assembly Labor Forum, the National Human Rights Commission and the Korean Bar Association, Kim Jong-chul, a lawyer and senior researcher at Advocates for Public Interest Law, stressed that Korea must act now to identify and monitor areas at risk of forced labor, or face growing international scrutiny.
In South Korea, the issue of forced labor first gained public attention in 2014, when a man with a developmental disability escaped from a salt farm on an isolated island off the southwest coast of Korea where he had been subjected to years of abuse and exploitation. His escape led to a nationwide government investigation and multiple indictments.
However, similar cases reemerged in 2021, with nearly identical patterns. Employers exploited vulnerable people, mainly those with disabilities and intellectual impairments, while posing as their guardians, providing shelter and food. In reality, they seized their ID cards, isolated them from outside help and subjected them to physical abuse, intimidation and debt bondage. In many cases, wages were withheld and victims were forced to work long hours without rest.
'Despite multiple prosecutions, few perpetrators were held accountable for forced labor,' Kim said. 'In 2014, only one of the many indicted was convicted specifically for forced labor.'
The lawyer also criticized the government's failure to properly protect victims, noting that some who escaped or sought help ended up returning to the places where they had been abused. Adding to the problem is the lack of accountability for companies sourcing from salt farms, an issue thrust into the spotlight recently by a surprise US sanction on a Korean firm.
In April, US Customs and Border Protection banned imports from Taepyung Salt Farm, one of Korea's largest producers, citing allegations of forced labor. The action followed a 2022 petition filed by Korean civic groups urging the US government to ban imports of Korean sea salt allegedly produced through forced labor.
In response to the sanction, the Korean government emphasized that it had already implemented reform measures since the 2021 case, including conducting annual surveys on labor conditions at salt farms.
Kim also addressed supply chain risks abroad.
Citing his 2013 visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, he said he investigated forced labor at a local school where students and teachers were mobilized to harvest cotton and classrooms were converted into dormitories. That cotton, he said, was later used by Korean textile companies and by the state-run Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. to produce banknotes, as part of government-supported investment projects.
These products are openly sold in major discount chains run by Korea's largest conglomerates. Without a law banning imports of goods made with forced labor, he warned, Korea remains complicit in such practices through its supply chains.
Furthermore, according to the lawyer, Korea itself produces seafood through forced labor.
'While there have been improvements compared to the past, the fisheries industry remains the sector most vulnerable to forced labor.'
About 80 percent of workers on distant-water fishing vessels are migrant seafarers, Kim said. According to the international non-governmental organization Environmental Justice Foundation, many migrant workers in Korea experience passport confiscation, wages below the minimum standard and long working hours, he said.
'These human rights violations against migrant fishers are not merely a matter of poor labor practices — they are legal issues.'
According to a 2023 report by international human rights group Walk Free, Korea imported an estimated $200 billion worth of goods potentially made with forced labor.
Kim said that if the recently proposed Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Act is passed, it could help address the issue of forced labor to some extent.
The bill, reintroduced in June by Rep. Jung Tae-ho of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, would require companies to assess potential human rights and environmental risks in their supply chains in advance and establish measures to address them.
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