South Korea said it has concluded talks with the United States to repatriate its citizens detained during a large immigration enforcement action at a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia, and that a chartered plane will be sent once U.S. administrative procedures are completed.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to South Korea's president, said Monday that Seoul had secured agreement from U.S. authorities to arrange transport for its nationals and that South Korean and U.S. officials were working to streamline visa procedures to prevent similar incidents. "If administration procedures are completed, we will charter a plane and bring them home," Kang said.
U.S. immigration officials detained 475 people in the raid, including more than 300 South Korean nationals, according to U.S. and South Korean statements. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said video released by the agency showed workers detained at the site and that many were found to be working in violation of their visas. ICE said people on short-term or visa-waiver programs are not authorized to work in the United States and defended the enforcement action as necessary to protect American jobs.
"They were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job," President Donald Trump said following the raids. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Steven Schrank said the operation "sends a clear message that those who exploit the system and undermine our workforce will be held accountable." Detainees are being held at an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia.
The facility, a battery plant operated by LG Energy Solution in partnership with Hyundai, is one of the largest foreign investments in the state and had been billed as a major economic development. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, earlier described the factory as the largest economic development project in state history, with an initial workforce of about 1,200.
LG Energy Solution said that 47 of its employees and roughly 250 contractor workers at the joint-venture factory were detained. The company said many of those arrested were on business trips with various visas or were in the United States under a visa-waiver program. In response, LG said it was suspending most business trips to the United States and directing employees on assignment in the country to return home immediately.
The timing of the raid has drawn attention in Seoul because it comes amid sensitive trade discussions and major South Korean investment pledges to U.S. manufacturing, part of broader efforts to offset tariffs and cement economic ties. South Korean media widely described the sweep as a "shock," with some outlets warning it could have a chilling effect on the activities of Korean companies operating in the United States.
Seoul said it will press for changes to visa and labor-authority procedures to reduce the risk that legitimate business travelers are detained. Officials emphasized efforts to distinguish between workers who are authorized under U.S. immigration law and those who are not.
U.S. officials have maintained that the enforcement action targeted illegal employment and was consistent with existing immigration laws. The White House said it did not expect the raid to deter foreign investment, pointing to the administration's continued courting of overseas capital even as it tightens visa allocations and enforcement.
Both governments said they would continue to coordinate on the status of the detained nationals and on broader measures to prevent similar incidents. Seoul has asked for prompt administrative processing to permit the repatriation of its citizens by chartered flight once U.S. procedures are completed.