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South Korea's Foreign Ministry said that Seoul and Washington
are discussing details on allowing all the detained workers to
return on a voluntary basis. It said Foreign Minister Cho Hyun
is to leave for the U.S. on Monday afternoon for talks related
to the workers' releases.
U.S. immigration authorities said Friday they detained 475
people, most of them South Korean nationals, when hundreds of
federal agents raided Hyundai's sprawling manufacturing site in
Georgia where the Korean automaker makes electric vehicles.
Agents focused on a plant that is still under construction at
which Hyundai has partnered with LG Energy Solution to produce
batteries that power EVs.
Cho said that more than 300 South Koreans were among the
detained.
The operation was the latest in a long line of workplace raids
conducted as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation
agenda. But the one Thursday is especially distinct because of
its large size and because the targeted site has been touted as
Georgia's largest economic development project.
The raid stunned many in South Korea because the country is a
key U.S. ally. It agreed in July to purchase $100 billion in
U.S. energy and make a $350 billion investment in the U.S. in
return for the U.S lowering tariff rates. About two weeks ago,
U.S. President Donald Trump and Lee held their first meeting in
Washington.
Trump said perhaps the U.S. could work out an arrangement with
South Korean workers who would train U.S. citizens to do work
such as battery and computer manufacturing.
“If you don’t have people in this country right now that know
about batteries, maybe we should help them along and let some
people come in and train our people,” Trump said Sunday night at
Andrews Air Force Base. He added that “the way you train people
is bring people in that know what they’re doing, let them stay
for a little while and help.”
Lee said the rights of South Korean nationals and economic
activities of South Korean companies must not be unfairly
infringed upon during U.S. law enforcement procedures. South
Korea's Foreign Ministry separately issued a statement to
express “concern and regret” over the case and sent diplomats to
the site.
Video released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on
Saturday showed a caravan of vehicles driving up to the site and
then federal agents directing workers to line up outside. Some
detainees were ordered to put their hands up against a bus as
they were frisked and then shackled around their hands, ankles
and waist.
Most of the people detained were taken to an immigration
detention center in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida state
line. None has been charged with any crimes yet, Steven Schrank,
the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations, said
during a news conference Friday, adding that the investigation
was ongoing.
He said that some of the detained workers had illegally crossed
the U.S. border, while others had entered the country legally
but had expired visas or had entered on a visa waiver that
prohibited them from working.
Kang, the South Korean presidential chief of staff, said that
South Korea will push to review and improve visa systems for
those traveling to the U.S. on business trips for investment
projects.
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Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul and Seung Min
Kim in Washington contributed to this report.
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