New York couple guilty of enslaving children from South Korea

A New York City couple has pleaded guilty to enslaving two children from South Korea who were in their care.

Fifty-four-year-old Jeong Taek Lee and his wife, 50-year-old Sook Yeon Park, both pleaded guilty to two counts of labor trafficking Wednesday (19 July). Lee was sentenced to five months of probation. Park was sentenced to six months in prison along with five years of probation.

Prosecutors say parents of the two children, a brother and sister, sent the siblings to live with the couple in 2010. Authorities say the couple forced the children to work at a grocery store, nail salon and restaurant while collecting their wages over a six-year period.

Prosecutors say Park physically abused the children as well. The children have been reunited with their parents in South Korea.