Operator's brother, care facility worker who spent victim's money receive suspended sentences

A salt farm in Sinan-gun, South Jeolla Province. This photo is unrelated to the article. [Yonhap]
A salt farm in Sinan-gun, South Jeolla Province. This photo is unrelated to the article. [Yonhap]

A salt farm operator who exploited a man with an intellectual disability for 10 years has been sentenced to three years in prison on appeal.

The operator's younger brother and a worker at a care hospital, both indicted on charges of misappropriating money from the victim's bank account, each received suspended sentences.

The Gwangju District Court's Criminal Division 2, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Jong-seok, upheld the original three-year prison sentence Wednesday for the 59-year-old operator, identified only as A, on charges including quasi-fraud and violations of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities.

A ran a salt farm in Sinan-gun, South Jeolla Province, from April 2014 to August 2024, during which time he put a 65-year-old man with a severe intellectual disability, identified as B, to work and withheld more than 96 million won ($71,600) in wages.

A's younger brother, 58, and a 63-year-old worker at a care hospital where B had temporarily stayed were also indicted on charges of misappropriating B's assets for personal use. As in the first trial, they received sentences of 10 months in prison suspended for two years and 18 months in prison suspended for two years, respectively.

The prolonged labor exploitation came to light during a comprehensive government probe into working conditions at salt farms across Sinan-gun in 2023.

A had previously been indicted in connection with the same case solely on charges of violating the Labor Standards Act and received a fine of 3 million won with a one-year suspended sentence. That punishment drew criticism at the time for being too lenient given the severity of the crime.


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