South Korea said it was considering sending a senior diplomat to the United States after U.S. authorities detained 475 people in a raid at a Hyundai manufacturing complex in Georgia, a sweep that South Korean officials say included about 300 of their nationals and has raised diplomatic concerns.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told an emergency meeting Saturday that Seoul was "deeply concerned and feel[s] a heavy sense of responsibility over the arrests of our nationals," according to Yonhap News Agency. Cho said he would consider traveling to Washington to consult with U.S. officials on behalf of President Lee Jae‑myung and that Seoul would dispatch senior Foreign Ministry officials to the site without delay.
First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon‑joo raised the issue in a phone call with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, urging that the economic activities of Korean companies investing in the United States and the rights and interests of Korean citizens not be unfairly infringed upon during U.S. law enforcement operations, the ministry said. Park asked the U.S. State Department to "actively work to ensure a fair and swift resolution to this matter."
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations officials said the operation followed a months‑long inquiry into the facility and described the sweep as the largest enforcement action at a single site in HSI history. Steven Schrank, HSI special agent in charge in Georgia, told reporters Friday that 475 immigrants suspected of working in the United States illegally were detained. He said he was unsure how many of those detained were South Korean and that no criminal charges had yet been filed.
Schrank said many of those detained either entered the United States without authorization or had previously held visas and overstayed. He said detainees were being moved to an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida‑Georgia line, and would be relocated further based on their individual circumstances.
The arrests represented almost half of the plant's roughly 1,200 workers, authorities said. The Hyundai complex, which state officials hailed as a major economic investment for Georgia, cost more than $7.6 billion and began manufacturing electric vehicles about a year ago. Construction and operations at parts of the site were halted in the wake of the enforcement action.
The raid has prompted a diplomatic dispute, with Seoul dispatching officials to the factory and lodging requests through the U.S. Embassy in Seoul for caution in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Korean citizens. President Lee has instructed that the rights of those arrested and of the company not be infringed upon, South Korean officials said.
The enforcement action drew criticism from labor advocates in Georgia. Yvonne Brooks, president of Georgia's chapter of the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations, called the raid "politically motivated" and said it created an atmosphere of fear among immigrant workers while increasing workloads for remaining employees.
The operation also comes days after the U.S. administration announced intensified deportation efforts, including changes that would affect the status of thousands of migrants, a development that has heightened scrutiny of large enforcement actions.
South Korea has emphasized that it will pursue diplomatic channels to protect its citizens and to seek clarification from U.S. authorities about the handling of detainees. Seoul has not said whether it will seek consular access for detained nationals, and U.S. officials have not yet announced any criminal charges tied to the raid.