South Korean Workers Detained in US Immigration Raid Return Home
More than 300 South Korean workers detained in a large-scale immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia last week are on their way back to Seoul, amid rising tensions over foreign investment in the US.
A chartered Korean Air flight carrying the workers — along with 14 non-Koreans who were also detained — departed Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Thursday at midday local time (17:00 BST). The plane is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport at around 15:30 Seoul time (07:30 GMT) on Friday. One South Korean national has reportedly chosen to remain in the US to pursue permanent residency.
The departure was delayed for over a day following a White House directive, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said. According to Seoul’s foreign ministry, President Donald Trump ordered the pause to confirm whether some workers wished to remain in the US to continue training Americans.
President Lee criticized the incident, warning that Korean companies could become reluctant to invest in the US.
“The situation is extremely bewildering,” he said. “If sending workers to support overseas factories is no longer permitted, establishing new facilities in the US will only become more difficult — and companies will question whether it is worth the effort.”
Seoul is currently in talks with Washington about securing additional visas for Korean workers, either through increased quotas or the creation of new visa categories. On Friday, South Korea’s foreign ministry confirmed it had asked members of the US Congress to back a new visa framework for Korean firms.
During meetings in Washington this week, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun expressed concerns about the arrests to US senators, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Hyundai’s chief executive José Muñoz said the raid would delay the plant’s opening by at least two to three months. “Now all these people want to get back, and that inevitably pushes back the timeline,” he told US media.
Last week, US officials detained 475 people at the Hyundai-LG battery facility under construction in Georgia, including more than 300 South Koreans. Authorities said the workers were in violation of immigration rules. LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant with Hyundai, countered that many of those detained held valid visas or were covered under a visa waiver programme.
One worker described the raid to the BBC as chaotic, saying most of those detained were mechanics hired by contractors to install production lines.
The incident has drawn widespread attention in South Korea, a close US ally that has pledged tens of billions of dollars in American investments partly to ease trade frictions. Local media outlets have called the raid a “shock,” with the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper warning it could have “a chilling effect” on Korean businesses in the US. Yonhap News Agency urged both governments to “repair cracks in their alliance.”
The timing of the operation — coinciding with sensitive US-South Korea trade talks — has fueled further unease in Seoul.
The White House has defended the raid, saying it will not deter investment. On Sunday, President Trump referenced the operation in a social media post, insisting that foreign firms must prioritize hiring Americans. He added that Washington would make it “quickly and legally possible” for overseas companies to bring in workers — as long as they complied with US immigration law.
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