South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun was to head to the US yesterday as he sought to resolve the fallout over the detention of hundreds of Korean workers during an immigration raid at a time when Seoul has committed to massive investment plans in the US.
Seoul on Sunday said that negotiations to arrange the release of about 300 Korean workers arrested at a Georgia battery plant being built by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution (LGES) had concluded, and a plan is in the works to fly them home this week.
The detention of the workers by the US Department of Homeland Security agents sent shock waves through South Korea, a major US ally, which has been trying to finalize a US trade deal agreed in late July.
Photo: EPA
It came just 10 days after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with US President Donald Trump in Washington and the two pledged closer business ties.
Cho’s talks would center on bringing the Korean workers, who were mostly employed by subcontractors, home via a chartered plane in what would be called a “voluntary departure,” said a South Korean foreign ministry official who declined to give further details.
Cho told an emergency parliamentary hearing yesterday that the government expects to prevent workers from being hit with a five-year entry ban to the US, adding that negotiations were proceeding “well.”
He also said “a broad agreement has been reached” to ensure workers would not face further disadvantages when entering the US, although final confirmation was pending.
Cho said there had been some local discontent, citing how LG said it could not hire US workers until the plant was completed, a situation that “seems to have caused some dissatisfaction locally.”
The foreign minister also said he would meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his trip.
Trump, who has ramped up deportations nationwide as his administration cracks down on illegal immigrants, said last week that he had not been aware of the raid. He called those detained “illegal aliens.”
On Sunday, he called on foreign companies investing in the US to “respect our nation’s immigration laws,” but sounded more conciliatory.
“Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The 300 South Koreans were among 475 arrested on Thursday at the site of a US$4.3 billion project by Hyundai and battery maker LGES to build batteries for electric cars. It was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the US Department of Homeland Security’s investigative operations.
Seoul has expressed its unhappiness about the arrests and the public release of the footage showing the operation, which involved armored vehicles and the shackling of workers.
Hyundai Motor is one of the biggest foreign investors in the US and is among South Korean companies participating in the country’s pledge of a US$350 billion fund for the US market.
A Hyundai Motor spokesperson said some staff had been asked to suspend non-essential trips to the US.
LGES has also suspended staff business trips to the US, other than certain exceptional cases.
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