"Salt Farm" 7 Days a Week, 2.02 Million KRW per Month... Labor Ministry Announcement Sparks "Are You Rescuing Slaves?" Criticism

Worknet, Controversy Over Salt Farm Job Posting
Monthly Salary 2.02 Million Won...Lower Than This Year's Minimum Wage
Some Say It's a Procedure for Hiring Foreign Workers

There is controversy over a job posting for salt field workers on 'Worknet,' a job search and recruitment information site operated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Employment Information Service, which offers wages below the minimum wage. Job seekers who saw the posting criticized the harsh working conditions, such as the intensity of labor and working hours, saying it "feels like recruiting slaves."

[Photo by Worknet]

According to Worknet on the 3rd, a job posting was made in mid-November last year seeking simple laborers for solar salt production at a salt field in Sinan, Jeollanam-do. The working conditions state a 7-day workweek with a monthly salary of 2,020,000 KRW (or more). Although the weekly working hours are listed as 40 hours, it is noted that the hours may vary depending on weather conditions due to the nature of salt field work. The benefits include dormitory accommodation and three meals a day, which is presumed to be due to the difficulty of commuting given the salt field’s island location. The posting was certified by the Mokpo Employment Center and recruitment is still ongoing as of the new year.

Job seekers criticized the posting for offering wages lower than the minimum hourly wage while recruiting salt field workers who endure high labor intensity. The minimum wage this year is 9,860 KRW per hour, which translates to 2,060,740 KRW per month. Even considering that the salt field indicated "2,020,000 KRW or more," concerns were raised about the high labor intensity, especially since workers are expected to perform additional tasks beyond salt field work.

Comments left by job seekers on the posting included statements such as "They are recruiting slaves through Worknet" and "Who is an employer that provides three meals a day? It seems like they posted this sarcastically."

However, there is also an opinion that the controversial posting is part of the procedure to hire foreign workers rather than domestic ones. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, before hiring foreign workers, employers must first make efforts to recruit domestic workers. As part of this process, the job posting was initially published on a site visible to job seekers. The posting clearly states that foreign workers will be hired after the domestic recruitment effort period.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.