Taepyung Salt Farm announced on the 11th that it submitted a petition to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to withdraw the Withhold Release Order (WRO).
The U.S. CBP previously announced on April 3 that it would withhold the import and distribution of salt products exported from the Taepyung Salt Farm due to indications of forced labor in the so-called 'Salt Worker Wage and Human Rights Incident' that occurred in 2021.
Taepyung Salt Farm stated, "The perpetrators involved in the incident, the family of Mr. Jang, were immediately expelled in October 2021, and there is no salt produced through forced labor," adding, "If a Withhold Release Order is issued based on that reason, it should be against the family of Mr. Jang, the parties responsible for the actions, not Taepyung Salt Farm."
Taepyung Salt Farm also noted, "We are a salt farm leasing business that does not employ workers for salt production, and the production of solar salt is managed by salt artisans who operate the salt farms rented from Taepyung Salt Farm." This is a claim that Taepyung Salt Farm has no legal authority or obligations for labor management and supervision of the workers (salt farmers) hired by the tenants.
In this petition, Taepyung Salt Farm emphasized, "We have been actively continuing efforts to prevent a recurrence since 2021." Taepyung Salt Farm explained that it implements ▲standard employment contracts for tenant workers ▲legal advisory contracts for human rights protection ▲relevant compliance training conducted by legal experts ▲and biannual human rights education conducted by external organizations.
Taepyung Salt Farm stated, "We are currently establishing and operating clauses related to the protection of workers' human rights and compensation conditions in contracts between the salt farms and the salt artisans." Additionally, they are actively participating in site surveys by local governments and related organizations to identify areas for improvement, and they are making efforts such as modernizing dormitory buildings and providing rest facilities.
A representative from Taepyung Salt Farm said, "The sudden Withhold Release Order from the U.S. customs authorities regarding Taepyung Salt Farm's solar salt products was made hastily without a site investigation," adding, "Through this petition, we emphasized that we have consistently carried out improvement activities since 2021." They also mentioned, "In the future, we will resolve misunderstandings quickly by obtaining objective proof through reliable third-party audits and reopen the path for exports to the U.S."
Meanwhile, Taepyung Salt Farm is concerned that if the export suspension to the U.S. continues, it will lead to a decline in trust for Korean solar salt, resulting in both tangible and intangible damages to the entire solar salt industry. Taepyung Salt Farm is also considering filing a damage compensation lawsuit against the family of Mr. Jang, who is involved in the forced labor incident, by calculating the scale of damages caused by this situation.