South Korea concludes talks with US to release Korean workers arrested in immigration raid: Official
A plane will be on its way to bring back the Koreans once administrative procedures are completed, Kang Hun-sik, Presidential Chief of Staff, said in televised remarks.
This image from video provided by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows manufacturing plant employees being escorted outside the Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle plant on Sep 4, 2025, in Georgia. (Photo: Corey Bullard/US Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP)
SEOUL: South Korea has just wrapped up talks with the United States for the release of detained Korean workers in Georgia, a presidential official said on Sunday (Sep 7).
A plane will be on its way to bring back the Koreans once administrative procedures are completed, Kang Hun-sik, Presidential Chief of Staff, said in televised remarks.
"As a result of the swift and united response... negotiations for the release of the detained workers have been concluded," Kang said.
"Only administrative procedures remain. Once these are completed, a chartered flight will depart to bring our citizens home."
US federal agents carried out a raid at a Hyundai Motor manufacturing facility in Georgia this week in the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security's investigative operations as part of President Donald Trump's escalating crackdown on immigrants.
Over 300 South Koreans were among 475 people arrested by US immigration officials at the Hyundai Motor car battery factory.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had ordered all-out efforts on Saturday to swiftly respond to the arrests.
Kang said on Sunday the government will seek ways to improve the visa system of Korean workers traveling to the US to “prevent a similar incident”.
A video released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed Asian workers shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles getting on a bus after the raid, which involved a helicopter and armoured vehicles.
In the video, hundreds of workers were standing up in front of a building, with some wearing yellow vests with names such as "Hyundai" and "LG CNS".
Two of the workers hid in a pond before being arrested.
Scrambling to contain the fallout, a senior executive at electric vehicle battery maker LG Energy Solution flew to Georgia on Sunday morning.
"The immediate priority now is the swift release of both our LG Energy Solution employees and those of our partner firms," executive Kim Ki-soo told reporters before boarding a plane.
LG Energy Solution has said 47 of its employees had been arrested - 46 South Koreans and one Indonesian.
An official at a partner firm of LG Energy Solution who spoke with one of the detained workers told Yonhap news agency that conditions at the detention centre were poor.
"They are given food and allowed to shower, but the conditions are substandard," the official was quoted as saying, adding they were not being handcuffed.
The battery maker said it has suspended all business trips to the US, except for client meetings, and instructed those already there to either "return immediately or standby at their accommodations".
Hyundai has said none of those arrested are its employees.
South Korea, Asia's fourth-biggest economy, is a key automaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the US.
Its companies have invested billions of dollars to build factories in the US in a bid to access the US market and avoid tariff threats from Trump.
President Lee met Trump during a visit last month, and Seoul pledged US$350 billion in US investment in July.
Trump has promised to revive the US manufacturing sector, while also vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants.
Trump may visit South Korea in October for the gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation event, CNN reported on Saturday, citing three Trump administration officials.
