South Korea announced on Sunday that approximately 300 of its nationals detained during an immigration raid at a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia would be released and flown home. The raid, which occurred on Thursday at the plant in Ellabell, resulted in nearly 500 arrests, including at least 300 South Koreans and 23 Mexicans.
Footage released by US authorities showed detained workers in handcuffs and ankle chains being loaded onto buses. The operation was the largest single-site sweep under President Donald Trump's anti-immigration campaign. South Korean officials expressed regret over the dissemination of the images, noting the timing was unfortunate given recent high-level talks between the two countries.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, stated that negotiations for the release had concluded and only administrative procedures remained. A chartered flight will bring the citizens home. LG executive Kim Ki-soo flew to Georgia to mitigate the fallout, emphasising the priority of swift release for employees of LG Energy Solution and partner firms.
LG Energy Solution confirmed 47 of its workers were detained, 46 of whom are South Koreans and one Indonesian. Around 250 detainees are believed to be employed by LG's contractor, mostly South Koreans. South Korea's first vice-foreign minister, Park Yoon-joo, told US under secretary of state Allison Hooker that the raid risked undermining trust and cooperation forged during a recent summit.
President Trump defended the raid, stating that those detained were illegal aliens and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) was doing its job. The incident appears to contradict recent efforts to encourage South Korean investment in the US, including a $250bn trade agreement fund. Trump may visit South Korea in October for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. Seoul said it would streamline visa access for its nationals to prevent similar incidents.
