The development opened up a new window for South Korean firms to gain a foothold in the market.

A recent report by the consultancy Horizon Advisory suggests that Xinjiang’s production of polysilicon -- an essential raw material used in manufacturing most solar panels -- has been connected to a broad program of forced labor, with “indicators of forced labor” from companies such as Jinko Solar and some of the largest polysilicon suppliers there, reports The Korea Herald.

“Solar Energy Industry Association in the US has been calling for excluding Xinjiang from solar power supply chains as it’s impossible to independently monitor (forced labor) in the region,”Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Kang Dong-jin was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

“The US is asking Europe to show solidarity for the human rights issue in Xinjiang, and the UK has recently responded by signaling a potential trade sanction on China. It’s likely for the US, Europe and their allies to shun solar cells and modules made of Chinese polysilicon in the future.”

Interestingly, the Chinese region of Xinjiang produces 40 percent of the world’s polysilicon.