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Korea Herald
05-07-2025
- Korea Herald
Lawyer warns of supply chain risks tied to forced labor in Korea and overseas
Despite being a developed country with strong labor protections on paper, South Korea continues to overlook forced labor practices both within its borders and in overseas supply chains tied to Korean companies, a public interest lawyer told a forum in Seoul on Thursday. 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.
Korea Herald
17-04-2025
- Korea Herald
Sinan salt farm owner convicted of forced labor serving on county council: report
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.
Korea Herald
07-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, ASEAN launch joint research platform on economic, trade policies
South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have launched a joint research platform on economic and trade policies as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, Seoul's industry ministry said Friday. The ASEAN-ROK Think-tank Dialogue on Economic and Trade Policy held a two-day kick-off meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia from Thursday and discussed measures to bolster collaboration on research on economy and trade issues in the region, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. The AKTD was established as a follow-up measure to a summit between South Korea and ASEAN in October, where the two sides agreed to elevate their relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" and enhance cooperation in various fields. "We anticipate the AKTD will become a leading policy platform for economic cooperation between South Korea and ASEAN, and contribute to the balanced economic development of the region," said Kim Jong-chul, director general for international trade relations at the ministry. The ministry also said it has discussed with its Indonesian counterpart their joint response to global oversupply and other economic issues. (Yonhap)
