South Korean officials said they had concluded talks with the United States to repatriate more than 300 of their nationals who were detained in a large-scale immigration raid at a Hyundai–LG battery plant in Georgia, and that a chartered plane would be arranged once U.S. administrative procedures are completed.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, said Seoul was working with U.S. authorities to expedite the return of its citizens and was seeking changes to the visa system to prevent similar incidents in the future. The talks followed the detention of 475 people by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), officials said, with more than 300 of those held identified as South Korean nationals.
ICE said the operation targeted people it believed were illegally working at the battery facility, one of the largest foreign investment projects in Georgia. Video released by ICE showed arrest scenes at the site, including workers shown restrained and wearing high-visibility vests identifying firms such as "Hyundai" and "LG CNS." A Homeland Security Investigations special agent said the raid was intended to protect American jobs and to hold accountable those who "exploit the system and undermine our workforce."
The White House defended the enforcement action. President Donald Trump said the individuals detained were "illegal aliens" and that ICE was "just doing its job," comments that came as both governments were engaged in sensitive economic and trade discussions. The timing of the raid alarmed some in Seoul because South Korea has pledged tens of billions of dollars in U.S. manufacturing investment, a dynamic that has played into broader negotiations over tariffs and trade.
LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant in a joint venture with Hyundai, said many of the South Korean employees arrested had been on business trips on various visas or were traveling under a visa-waiver program. The company said it had suspended most business travel to the United States and ordered employees on assignment in the U.S. to return home immediately. LG Energy Solution reported that 47 of its employees and roughly 250 contractor workers at the joint venture factory were detained.
The factory, located in a rural part of Georgia, had been promoted by state officials as the largest economic development project in Georgia’s history and was expected to employ about 1,200 people. The detained workers are being held at an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia.
South Korean media described the raids as a "shock," and some commentators warned the action could have a chilling effect on South Korean business activities in the United States. Seoul’s request to ease or clarify visa arrangements reflects concerns that short-term or recreational visas and business travel rules were not sufficiently clear, particularly for employees of foreign firms operating in the U.S.
U.S. officials said the enforcement operation underscored the government’s long-standing position that visitors on short-term or visa waiver programs are not authorized to work in the United States. ICE and Homeland Security officials emphasized that the operation was an immigration-enforcement matter rather than one targeted at any particular nationality or investment.
The two governments said they would continue discussions aimed at resolving the immediate repatriation of detainees and at addressing procedural issues that the South Korean government says must be fixed to avoid similar incidents. Both Seoul and Washington characterized the talks as diplomatic and administrative, and did not provide a detailed timetable for changes to visa policies.