More than 300 South Korean nationals who were detained in a large U.S. immigration raid at a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia are due to arrive home on Friday after a chartered Korean Air flight left Atlanta on Thursday.
The flight carried the majority of the roughly 475 people detained in the operation last week — more than 300 of whom were South Korean — and 14 non-Korean detainees, South Korean officials said. One South Korean national has chosen to remain in the United States to seek permanent residency.
The departure was delayed by more than a day after what South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said was an instruction from the White House to pause removal while U.S. officials checked whether the workers would be willing to remain in the country to continue work and train American employees. The South Korean foreign ministry said Seoul had raised the matter with U.S. lawmakers and requested support for a new visa category for Korean firms.
President Lee said the raid had left South Korean businesses "very hesitant" about investing in the United States and called the situation "extremely bewildering," noting it is common practice for companies to send experienced workers overseas to set up factories. Hyundai’s chief executive, José Muñoz, told U.S. media the detentions would delay the Georgia factory’s opening by "a minimum two to three months" because employees and contractors want to return to South Korea.
U.S. officials said last week that 475 people were detained at the battery facility, one of the largest foreign investment projects in Georgia, on suspicion of immigration violations. LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant in partnership with Hyundai, said many of those detained held various visas or were in the United States under the visa waiver programme. Workers who spoke to reporters described panic and confusion during the operation and said that the majority of those detained were mechanics installing production lines and employed by contractors.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. senators in Washington this week to convey Seoul’s concerns about the arrests, the foreign ministry said. Seoul has said it is negotiating with Washington on visa options for South Korean workers, including higher quotas or new visa categories, and formally asked the U.S. Congress to consider measures that would allow Korean firms to bring specialists to the United States legally.
The timing of the raid has been sensitive, coming as the two countries engage in trade talks and as South Korea has pledged tens of billions of dollars in planned U.S. investment, in part to offset tariffs. South Korean media described the operation as a shock to business and urged both governments to work to repair strains on the alliance.
The White House defended the operation and dismissed concerns that it would deter foreign investment. U.S. President Donald Trump referenced the raid on social media last weekend, urging foreign companies to hire Americans and saying the U.S. government would make it "quickly and legally possible" for foreign firms to bring in workers if they respected U.S. immigration laws. The BBC has contacted the White House for comment on the reported pause and the circumstances of the detentions.
As the chartered plane was en route, South Korea’s government said its officials remained in contact with detainees and U.S. authorities and would continue talks to prevent similar disruptions. Hyundai and its partners face the immediate challenge of staffing and opening the new facility while Seoul presses Washington for clearer pathways that would allow companies to deploy specialist workers abroad without risking detention.