Bound with Clotheslines, Eyes Poked: Workers Suffer Abuse and 300 Million Won in Unpaid Wages, Yet Have Nowhere to Go

[Anchor]

Recently, three laborers were rescued from a salt farm in South Jeolla Province. Details have emerged revealing that salt farm operators subjected the workers to prolonged abuse, including tying their hands and feet with clotheslines. However, another pressing problem is that the victims have nowhere to go even after leaving the salt farm.

Reporter Jeong Banseok met with them.

[Reporter]

This is a salt farm located in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province.

Three individuals, including a person surnamed Lee who is suspected of having borderline intellectual functioning, worked here without a single day off for periods ranging from three months to five years.

The unpaid wages owed to them exceed 300 million won.

[Lee / Salt Farm Victim Worker: (Early morning) I woke up at 4:30, and aside from meal times, you basically had to work until 11:30 at night. I have never received any money.]

When the salt farm owner and work foreman were indicted in July, the indictment detailed the brutality of the abuse.

Under the pretext of being clumsy at work, workers had their eyes poked with fingers or were locked inside car trunks.

There were also numerous instances where their hands were tied with clotheslines and they were suspended from the rafters of a salt storage shed for hours at a time.

[Noh / Salt Farm Victim Worker: The boss would just tie their hands and feet together so they couldn't move. They tied the hands and feet and threw a rope like a clothesline over that part.]

The victimized workers had been cut off from their families and had nowhere to return to.

[Noh / Salt Farm Victim Worker: They would tell me, even if you try to run away, you'll be caught and brought back within an hour at best, or exactly a day at most. While saying that, they told me never to even think about running away.]

The acts of cruelty continued until just before they were rescued.

[Lee / Salt Farm Victim Worker: When I collapsed, the boss stepped on me directly. If he didn't like something, he told me to keep my hands raised.]

The Yeonggwang county office inspected this salt farm where the victims worked three years ago and reported no unusual findings.

They were omitted entirely from this year's list for the field survey.

The victims, who are currently unable to achieve financial independence, are relying on living expenses provided by the government after being recognized as human trafficking victims.

Even this support is capped at a maximum of 4.7 million won for a six-month period.

They are currently staying in hospital inpatient wards or temporary facilities, and lack the money to rent even a single room.

[Noh / Salt Farm Victim Worker: I don't have a single penny in my bank account right now. If I leave, I'll have to sleep on the streets...]

The Yeonggwang county office maintains the stance that providing support is difficult for two of the victims because their official addresses are not in Yeonggwang.

[Lee Girim / Activist with Companion with Public Interest Lawyers: (I believe) that when victims of disability abuse occur, providing appropriate support and shaping a safe life is the responsibility of the local government.]

Without proper support, tragedies at salt farms are bound to be repeated.

[Noh / Salt Farm Victim Worker: It is a place I never want to return to ever again.]

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Jeong Banseok | Video by Kim Hangyul | Video Editing by Park Ji-in
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.