Salt Farm Owner Indicted for Forcing Disabled Person into Labor in Sinan

Three Others, Including Broker, Indicted Without Detention for Unauthorized Use of Victim's Funds

A view of the church operated by a pastor who hospitalized forced labor victims from Sinan salt farms in a nursing hospital and embezzled money. Photo by Min Chanki

The owner of a salt farm and several associates have been indicted for forcing a person with an intellectual disability into labor.

The Criminal Division 2 of the Mokpo Branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, led by Chief Prosecutor Hwang Youngseop, announced on December 1 that it had detained and indicted Mr. A (age 59), the owner of the salt farm, on charges including quasi-fraud and violations of the Welfare of Disabled Persons Act.

In addition, Mr. A's younger brother, Mr. B (age 57), and Mr. C (age 62), the head of a real estate leasing company, were indicted without detention on charges of quasi-fraud and embezzlement for siphoning off money from the victim's bank account.

Furthermore, Mr. D (age 61), an acquaintance, was also indicted without detention for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act after receiving approximately 10 million won from Mr. A in return for promising to use his connections to quash the investigation.

Mr. A is accused of exploiting over 96 million won in wages from a victim with a severe intellectual disability at a salt farm in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, from April 2014 to August last year.

The prosecution confirmed that, following the exposure of previous salt farm slavery cases, Mr. A attempted to evade investigation by depositing money into the victim's account, but in reality, Mr. A's family used the victim's bank account for their own purposes.

Mr. B, Mr. A's younger brother, allegedly pretended to rent a room to the victim and withdrew 45 million won from the victim's account under the pretense of a deposit.

The exploitation of the victim was uncovered during a comprehensive investigation into labor conditions at salt farms in 2023. Afterward, the victim was hospitalized in a nursing hospital, where it was also revealed that a hospital staff member had freely used Mr. A's bank account.

Mr. C, who is both the administrator of the nursing hospital and the head of the real estate leasing company, is believed to have embezzled 90 million won from Mr. A under the pretense of a deposit for a room on the third floor of a building near the hospital where the victim was hospitalized. He also embezzled a total of about 20 million won by repeatedly withdrawing and redepositing cash from Mr. A's account on six occasions.

Mr. D allegedly used his extensive local connections to solicit and broker favors for Mr. A, who was under investigation, receiving a total of 10.5 million won over four separate transactions.

Notably, Mr. D also attempted to obstruct the investigation by instructing Mr. A to persuade the victim to tell investigators that he did not wish to be separated from Mr. A.