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South Korea ends talks to release citizens detained in US Hyundai raid

2025-09-07 15:21:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The South Korean government says it has concluded talks with the US to release its citizens detained in a massive immigration raid on a Hyundai plant in Georgia.

The South Korean president's chief of staff said a chartered plane would be sent to bring the detainees home if administrative procedures are completed.

Kang Hoon-sik said authorities were trying to improve the visa system to prevent such incidents in the future.

US officials arrested 475 people - more than 300 of them South Korean citizens - who they said were found to be working illegally at the battery plant, one of the largest foreign investment projects in the state.

The White House has defended the operation, dismissing concerns that the raid could deter foreign investment.

"They were illegal immigrants and ICE was just doing its job," President Donald Trump said after the raids on Friday.

Video released by ICE officials showed Asian workers handcuffed in front of a building, with some wearing yellow vests with names such as "Hyundai" and "LG CNS."

"People with short-term or recreational visas are not authorized to work in the U.S.," ICE said, adding that the raid was necessary to protect U.S. jobs.

"This operation sends a clear message that those who exploit the system and undermine our workforce will be held accountable," said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Steven Schrank in a statement Saturday.

South Korea, a close US ally, has pledged to invest tens of billions of dollars in American manufacturing, partly to offset the tariffs.

The timing of the raid, while the two governments are engaged in sensitive trade talks, has raised concerns in Seoul.

Trump has actively encouraged large investments from other countries, while also tightening the distribution of visas for foreign companies.

LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant with Hyundai, says many of the LG employees arrested were on business trips on various visas or under a visa waiver program.

The company said it is suspending most business travel to the US and instructing employees on duty in the US to return home immediately.

South Korean media widely described the raid as "shocking", with the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper warning that it could have "a dampening effect on the activities of our businesses in the United States".

The factory, which produces new electric vehicles, was described by Georgia's Republican governor as the largest economic development project in the state's history, employing 1,200 people.

The arrested workers are being held at an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia.

LG Energy Solution said 47 of its employees and about 250 workers for contractors at the joint venture plant were arrested./ CNA, translated by BBC