It became known on the 26th that Taepyeong Salt Farm, a state-registered cultural heritage, has applied to cancel its heritage registration and is under review. The Taepyeong Salt Farm side was said to have the position that it has become difficult to maintain the value of the cultural heritage due to the forced labor controversy.
That day, the Taepyeong Salt Farm side said it recently applied to the Korea Heritage Service to delete the registrations of two state-registered cultural heritages: Taepyeong Salt Farm and the stone salt warehouse. The two were designated as state-registered cultural heritage in 2007.
Shinan County is currently deliberating whether to delete Taepyeong Salt Farm's cultural heritage registration. After that, through South Jeolla Province, the Korea Heritage Service makes the final decision on the cancellation of the registration.
The reason the Taepyeong Salt Farm side applied for cancellation of the cultural heritage registration is the suspicion that illegal acts, including forced labor, are taking place there. In its opinion submitted to the Korea Heritage Service, Taepyeong Salt Farm wrote, "Taepyeong Salt Farm was registered as an industrial heritage symbolizing the development of the salt industry after the Japanese occupation, but its symbolism and social meaning have been seriously damaged by the forced labor case," and, "It no longer serves to positively symbolize the history of industrial development or the community's way of life, making it difficult to maintain the value of the cultural heritage."
It went on, "The fact that U.S. Customs and Border Protection imposed an import ban on Taepyeong Salt Farm's solar salt and related products shows that in the international community this cultural heritage is being recognized as a symbol of a human-rights-violating industry," and added, "The heritage in question has lost the public legitimacy for preservation."
Earlier, in May, the U.S. government blocked imports of solar salt produced by Taepyeong Salt Farm due to allegations of forced labor. Afterward, the Taepyeong Salt Farm side submitted a petition to the United States to withdraw the measure and plans to undergo an audit by a third-party institution to clarify the truth.
Meanwhile, Taepyeong Salt Farm has produced solar salt, obtained by evaporating seawater, for more than 70 years since 1953. Established to aid refugees after the Korean War and to increase domestic salt production, Taepyeong Salt Farm is the largest single salt farm in Korea, connecting Jeonjungdo and Hujungdo with embankments and creating salt pans in the mudflats between them.