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US bans imports from Korea's biggest salt farm over forced labor claims
A laborer works at Taepyung Salt Farm in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, Monday. Yonhap
By Park Ung
Korea's oceans ministry cites no more forced labor, seeks talks with US to lift ban
The U.S. has blocked imports from Korea's largest sea salt farm, citing information that reasonably indicates the use of forced labor in the production process. This marks the first time the U.S. government has imposed an import ban on a Korean company due to such allegations.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said its personnel at all U.S. ports of entry will confiscate sea salt products from Taepyung Salt Farm in Korea. The measure went into effect on April 2 (local time). Thirteen countries, including Somalia, Mexico, China and Korea, are currently subject to such orders.
The agency reported that its investigation into the salt farm revealed several indicators of forced labor, as outlined by the International Labour Organization. These included the exploitation of vulnerability, deception, restrictions on movement, retention of identity documents, abusive living and working conditions, intimidation and threats, physical violence, debt bondage, withholding of wages and excessive overtime.
Founded in 1953 in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, Taepyung is the country’s largest salt farm, covering 4.62 million square meters. The 2007 National Registered Cultural Heritage site produces about 6 percent of the country's sea salt, supplying its own brand and major food companies.
Despite its heritage status, the farm — which leases land to individual salt producers — has repeatedly been linked to forced labor. In 2021, some subcontracted farm operators were found to have committed labor abuses, including wage theft.
The U.S. import ban was implemented after Korean advocacy groups submitted petitions to the U.S. customs agency in November 2022, urging it to stop imports of Korean salt products from companies suspected of using forced labor.
"The Korean government and companies failed to properly address forced labor at salt farms for more than a decade," APIL, the nonprofit organization that filed the petition, said in a statement, Monday.
An aerial view of Taepyung Salt Farm in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, in this file photo. Yonhap
Under last week's order, salt produced and exported by Taepyung farm is now subject to seizure and cannot be distributed in the U.S. unless it is proven to be free of forced labor. On Monday, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that it would work to quickly lift the U.S. import ban on products from the farm in question, saying forced labor is no longer an issue there.
“Following the 2021 forced labor case, the ministry had already implemented improvement measures. Currently, all sun-dried salt products produced by Taepyeong Salt Farm and exported to the U.S. are unrelated to forced labor," it said.
The Korea Times attempted to reach Taepyung Salt Farm for comment, but its website was shut down and calls to the listed phone number went unanswered.
Both Sinan County and Taepyung Salt Farm denied allegations of forced labor.
The county believes the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) move stems from the 2021 case involving a farm operator who failed to pay 340 million won ($232,000) to workers who harvested salt since 2014. He was later indicted and recently sentenced to prison on appeal.
“We expelled the operator responsible for the forced labor issues in 2021, and other operators under contract this year have no connection to the past case,” the farm said in a statement released Monday.
“We need to first look into whether CBP’s investigation was conducted properly.”
Some salt farms in Sinan, a region renowned for its high-quality sea salt, have been found to have used forced labor in the past. In 2014, authorities identified 63 victims at farms in the area. Several salt farm owners and human trafficking brokers were brought to trial for years of exploiting workers with cognitive impairments or developmental disabilities without proper compensation.