Shinan County: "Forced Labor in Solar Salt Production Is Not True"

Enactment of “Human Rights Protection and Promotion Ordinance” in December 2021
No Human Rights Violations or Wage Arrears Since Ordinance Enactment

Shinan County in Jeonnam has released a statement regarding the Withhold Release Order (WRO) issued by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in connection with allegations of forced labor in the production process of solar salt at Taepyung Salt Farm.

According to the county on the 8th, this Withhold Release Order is unrelated to forced labor or human rights violations, and is instead related to a wage arrears incident between an operator who leased part of Taepyung Salt Farm in 2021 and the workers.

Exterior view of Shinan County Office

Taking this incident as an opportunity for reflection, the county emphasized that further human rights violations must not be overlooked. They established a strong institutional plan to eradicate such issues and, in December 2021, enacted the “Shinan County Ordinance on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights.” The main focus of the ordinance is to protect the human rights of all workers, including salt farm laborers, who are in blind spots of the system.

In addition to enacting the ordinance, the county has been conducting joint inspections each quarter with Jeonnam Province, Shinan Police Station, Mokpo Branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Disability Rights Advocacy Agency to prevent any recurrence of human rights violations. These efforts will continue in the future.

Following the incident, the county also implemented a dedicated public official system, conducting regular one-on-one interviews and on-site administrative guidance for salt farm workers alongside the institutional reforms and joint inspections.

Thanks to these self-reflective efforts by Shinan County, there have been no further cases of human rights violations or wage arrears since the incident.

Choi Jingak, the department head, stated, “We are strictly applying the law to matters of workers’ human rights and wage arrears, and are taking strong measures such as administrative actions (permit cancellation, business suspension, etc.) in case of legal violations. We will actively cooperate with Taepyung Salt Farm to establish a collaborative system and work toward the prompt lifting of the import restrictions.”