'No more tolerance': Government launches crackdown on labor exploitation at 765 salt farms nationwide

The government is launching a pan-government response to eradicate labor exploitation at salt farms, prompted by a recent case in which a worker with an intellectual disability was assaulted and exploited at a salt farm in Yeonggwang-gun, South Jeolla Province.

All 765 salt farm operations nationwide will undergo an emergency inspection for compliance with labor laws, and any confirmed exploitation will be met with criminal prosecution as well as license revocations and subsidy clawbacks.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced Wednesday that they are establishing a joint inter-agency response framework with the Korean National Police Agency and local governments to eradicate labor exploitation and human rights abuses at salt farms. The measures were drawn up in response to the recent assault on a worker with a disability at a Yeonggwang salt farm, with the aim of preventing similar incidents from recurring.

As a first step, the government has directed all 765 salt farm operators nationwide to conduct self-assessments checking their own compliance with basic labor standards and labor laws. The self-assessment checklist covers assault and forced labor, as well as whether written employment contracts have been drawn up, minimum wage requirements met, wages paid in full, severance pay provided and pay stubs issued.

The Mokpo branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor oversees Sinan-gun in South Jeolla Province, where roughly 80 percent of the country's salt farms are concentrated. It will also conduct unannounced on-site inspections of 55 salt farm operations, focusing on verifying compliance with labor laws, including unpaid wages and assault.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will strengthen coordination with the labor ministry and police so that any signs of human rights violations — including assault, forced labor or wage theft — uncovered during its ongoing comprehensive survey of salt farm employment conditions are reported immediately. That survey has been under way with local governments since May.

The government will also expand an existing hotline between the labor ministry and the Korean National Police Agency — originally set up to handle human rights abuses against migrant workers — to cover cases involving domestic workers. A standing joint-response system will be established under which police who become aware of labor exploitation at salt farms or other island workplaces immediately notify the labor ministry and launch a joint investigation.

The labor ministry will begin labor inspections immediately upon receiving such notifications and will apply a zero-tolerance policy — including criminal charges — when assault or forced labor is confirmed. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and local governments will pursue administrative measures against farms found to have broken the law, including license revocations, bans on participation in government support programs and subsidy clawbacks. Victims will also be connected to protective facilities and provided with recovery support.

Alongside punitive measures, the government will strengthen prevention efforts. The labor ministry and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plan to expand labor law compliance and human rights sensitivity training for salt farm operators to raise awareness of workers' rights.

"Premodern labor exploitation that tramples on workers' human rights — through assault, forced labor and the like — cannot be tolerated under any circumstances," Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said. "We will work closely with relevant agencies to pursue labor exploitation and human rights abuses to the end, and respond strictly with a zero-tolerance policy toward any violations of the law."

Oceans and Fisheries Minister Hwang Jong-woo said protecting the human rights and labor rights of salt farm workers is "the most fundamental prerequisite for a sustainable sea salt industry." He added that the ministry would strengthen inspections at production sites, strictly apply management tools including license revocations to operations found to have broken the law, and pursue improvements to the regulatory regime.