Salt farm owner gets prison term for abusing employees with disabilities

A salt farm owner was sentenced to four years and six months in prison on Wednesday for abusing and exploiting employees with disabilities.

The Gwangju District Court convicted the 61-year-old, whose identity was withheld, of quasi-fraud and aggravated confinement. It also banned him from working at organizations serving people with disabilities for five years.

He is accused of withholding about 300 million won ($225,000) in wages from three employees who worked an average of 17 hours a day for five years at his salt farm in Yeonggwang, 325 kilometers south of Seoul, until June this year.

The victims, all men in their 50s and 60s, have conditions such as borderline intellectual functioning or visual impairment. They were reportedly subjected to frequent physical abuse but remained dependent on the owner due to their limited ability to defend themselves.

The court also sentenced two salt farm officials to 10 months in prison and 10 months in prison, suspended, respectively, for their involvement in the owner's offenses.