This June 6, 2023, file photo shows a sea salt farm operated by South Korea’s Taepyung Salt Farm in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The foreign ministry said Monday that a South Korean sea salt farm recently placed under U.S. import restrictions is no longer involved in forced labor, after the U.S. customs agency’s ban on its products over alleged labor abuses.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Thursday (U.S. time) it issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against Taepyung Salt Farm, located in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, 305 kilometers southwest of Seoul, and the entry of all Taepyung products will be detained, effectively immediately.
The CBP said its investigation found indications of the use of forced labor in violation of 19 U.S. Code 1307 under the Tariff Act, such as “abuse of vulnerability, deception, restriction of movement and abusive living and working conditions,” as identified by the International Labour Organization.
The foreign ministry on Monday said production at Taepyung no longer involves such practices.
“All sea salt currently exported to the United States from Taepyung Salt Farm is produced without any involvement of forced labor,” a ministry official said.
“Since the 2021 forced labor incident, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, in coordination with relevant ministries, has implemented corrective measures,” the official said.
The import restriction followed a petition filed in late 2022 by South Korea-based advocacy groups, after a May 2021 incident in which the farm operator was accused of exploiting workers with disabilities.
The official added that the government will take necessary measures to address the issue and actively engage in discussions with the U.S. side regarding the matter.
The 19 U.S. Code 1307 prohibits the importation of all goods and merchandise “mined and produced or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor, or and forced labor, including child labor” under penal sanctions.
The CBP’s designation of the import restriction marked the first such case involving a South Korean supplier.
(Yonhap)
