Salt farm owner gets prison term for abusing employees with disabilities
A salt farm owner was sentenced to four years and six months in prison on Wednesday for abusing and exploiting employees with disabilities. The Gwangju District Court convicted the 61-year-old, whose identity was withheld, of quasi-fraud and aggravated confinement. It also banned him from working at organizations serving people with disabilities for five years. He is accused of withholding about…
A 61-year-old salt farm owner received a four-year and six-month prison sentence on Wednesday for the abusive treatment of disabled employees. The Gwangju District Court found him guilty of quasi-fraud and aggravated confinement. In addition to his incarceration, the court ordered him to refrain from working in organizations that assist people with disabilities for a period of five years.
The defendant, whose name was not disclosed, is accused of withholding approximately 300 million won ($225,000) in wages from three employees who worked at his salt farm in Yeonggwang, located 325 kilometers south of Seoul. These employees, all in their 50s and 60s, suffered from conditions such as borderline intellectual functioning or visual impairment. They were forced to work an average of 17 hours per day for five years before being paid in June of this year.
The victims were subjected to frequent physical abuse, yet they remained reliant on the owner due to their limited capacity to defend themselves. The court also sentenced two other officials from the salt farm to 10 months in prison each, with one receiving a suspended sentence, for their roles in the owner's misconduct.
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