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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
Kil Soo Lee, former owner of a Daewoosa American Somoa factory, forced over 200 Vietnamese and Chinese people to work in his garment factory. The victims were recruited from China and state-owned labor companies in Vietnam. Each worker paid fees ranging from $5,000 to $8,000 to be brought the U.S. and for their job in the factory. Lee and his co-workers threatened the victims with deportation if they spoke against their poor working conditions and minimal pay. In March of 1999, workers complained about their situation to local residents in an attempt to get more food. Lee responded by arresting and deporting some of the victims, depriving the rest of food, and physically beating the workers so they continued working. A woman lost an eye due to one of these beatings. The victims continued to work in the factory until November 2000. When the victims were recruited to come work in the factory they were promised $408 per month in wages, as well as free food and housing. They were not given any of these things, and Lee took their travel documents. The clothes made in the factory were commonly sold in Sears and JcPenny stores.
Response and intervention
One of Lee’s co-workers (a manager) was sentenced to 70 months, and another (a garment worker) was sentenced to 51 months. Both pleaded guilty to trafficking charges and were sentenced in January 2004. Lee was sentenced in June 2005 to 40 years in prison, on numerous federal violations of involuntary servitude, extortion, and money laundering. The case was investigated by the Honolulu regional office of the FBI. Following the government’s prosecution of Lee and his co-workers, Boat People SOS helped the victims with immigration assistance to legally stay in the U.S., health care, education, and employment assistance. Boat People SOS