2 days ago
Renowned human rights lawyer urges Korea to adopt forced labor import ban
No company is free from forced labor in global supply chain, stresses Vandenberg, founder of Human Trafficking Legal Center
American human rights lawyer Martina Vandenberg has called on South Korea, an important economy in the global supply chain, to enact an import ban on goods made with forced labor during her recent visit to Seoul, saying such a measure would benefit not only exploited workers abroad but Korean workers as well.
"Forced labor is ubiquitous, and it is so frequently found in global supply chains" said Vandenberg, president of Washington-based Human Trafficking Legal Center, in an interview with The Korea Herald. It is 'a feature, not a bug' in the global economic system, and 'it's systematic.'
She visited Seoul earlier this month to speak at a forum on the forced labor issue, co-hosted by the National Assembly Labor Forum, the National Human Rights Commission and the Korean Bar Association.
The Human Trafficking Legal Center, founded by Vandenberg, is a nonprofit that trains pro bono lawyers to seek restitution for human trafficking victims. She has trained more than 4,000 pro bono attorneys.
'At this point in the global economy, if you want a job and you're coming from a poor country, you have to buy that job,' she said. 'You pay recruitment fees, fees for medical tests, fees to travel. And when workers arrive at the job site, they discover they're not being paid the rate they were promised. Their debt back home keeps growing. They may be victims of deception, violence or even sexual violence.'
"When so many workers across the globe are experiencing forced labor, we have to ask how the system is so broken," she added.
She explained that many firms build layers of subcontractors — "subcontractors, and subcontractors and subcontractors" — to distance themselves from legal responsibility. 'They're trying to avoid liability, both criminal and civil.'
But the real pressure, she emphasized, comes from the top.
'It's the companies in developed economies putting enormous pressure on supply chains to lower prices.'
'No company is free from this,' Vandenberg said. 'American companies are not free from this. South Korean companies are not free from this.'
US import ban model
To address the issue, the United States has enforced Section 307 of the Tariff Act, which prohibits the import of goods made with forced labor. Although the law has existed since 1930, it became enforceable only after loopholes were closed in 2016.
'This enforceability has had an enormous impact,' she said. 'Before, companies operated with total impunity. No one would prosecute them. No one would stop them. But now they realize someone is watching. Someone is investigating. And if their supply chain is tainted with forced labor, they may not be able to sell their goods in the US, the EU, Canada or Mexico.'
Vandenberg said, 'We hope someday they won't be able to bring their goods into South Korea — when South Korea has an import ban.'
'South Korea is a very important economy, a key player in the global economy,' she added.
According to a 2023 report by international human rights group Walk Free, South Korea imports up to $20 billion worth of goods each year that are at risk of being linked to forced labor. Many of these products originate from regions where Uyghur workers and others are forced into labor in the lowest tiers of global supply chains.
While Korea has not yet proposed such a bill, The Korea Herald has learned that Rep. Kim Tae-seon of the ruling Democratic Party is preparing to introduce legislation following a series of public discussions.
Import bans, she noted, do more than protect workers abroad.
'They also protect workers at home. There's no way a Korean or American worker can compete with someone earning almost nothing. A US steelworker, who testified in a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee several years ago, said 'There's no way I can compete with someone held in slavery.' So US and South Korean workers can't compete when other workers aren't being paid."
Vandenberg suggested that import bans can be incorporated into bilateral trade agreements. Canada and Mexico, for example, adopted import bans as part of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, negotiated under the Trump administration in 2020.
'It's a very good way for countries to negotiate with the US — agree to adopt import bans and reach mutually beneficial trade deals,' she said.
Korean sea salt under scrutiny
The US has already taken action against a Korean company. In April, US Customs and Border Protection issued a withhold release order against products from Taepyung Salt Farm, one of Korea's largest sea salt producers, citing evidence of forced labor.
The action followed a 2022 petition from Korean civic groups urging a ban on Korean sea salt allegedly produced under forced labor conditions.
According to Vandenberg, the action against the Korean company is highly unusual.
'It's one of only three issued this year -- alongside actions against frankincense from Somaliland and seafood from a Chinese fishing vessel, Zhen Fa 7, which had Indonesian fishers onboard.'
'We don't believe any withhold release order should be modified or revoked until there is proof that workers have been compensated and that conditions have changed,' she said. 'The whole point is not just to block goods — but to change the reality for workers on the ground.'
She added, 'There's still a long way to go. It will take attention and effort from the company and Korean authorities before any modification or revocation would be justified.'
shinjh@
