Two-thirds of South Korea's sea salt is produced at more than 850 salt farms on dozens of islands in Sinan County, including Sinui island, where half the 2,200 residents work in the industry. Workers spend grueling days managing a complex network of waterways, hoses and storage areas.
Five times during the last decade, revelations of slavery involving the disabled have emerged. Kim's case prompted a nationwide government probe of thousands of farms and disabled facilities that found more than 100 workers who'd received no, or scant, pay.
Yet little has changed on the islands, according to a months-long investigation by the AP based on court and police documents and dozens of interviews with freed slaves, salt farmers, villagers and officials.