South Korea and U.S. Finalize Agreement to Bring Home Detained South Korean Workers After Massive Georgia Raid
Seoul and Washington have reached a deal to repatriate more than 300 South Korean workers detained during a large-scale immigration raid last week at a Hyundai battery factory under construction in Georgia. The South Korean government announced Sunday that it plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home once the final administrative procedures are completed.
The massive raid, conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), targeted Hyundai’s sprawling facility involved in producing electric vehicle batteries, a project considered Georgia’s largest economic development initiative. Authorities detained 475 people, most of whom are South Korean nationals, at the site partnering Hyundai with LG Energy Solution.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, said the negotiations between both governments on the workers’ release have been finalized. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun departed for the U.S. Monday to engage in further talks to finalize the return process. According to Foreign Ministry officials, the repatriation will occur on a voluntary basis to facilitate smooth returns and administrative handling.
The incident has caused shock and a sense of betrayal among many South Koreans, as videos emerged showing some detainees shackled by hands, ankles, and waist, heightening public awareness of the severity of the enforcement actions. South Korean officials are also working with U.S. authorities to ensure that some of the detained workers who may need to return to the U.S. to complete factory construction can resume their roles legally.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who initially supported the raid as part of his administration’s broader immigration enforcement and deportation agenda, suggested there could be arrangements to have South Korean workers train U.S. citizens for roles such as battery and computer manufacturing. This reflects a complex effort to reconcile immigration enforcement with economic and industrial collaboration between the two countries.
Context and Economic Implications
The Hyundai factory project represents a substantial foreign investment and is pivotal to Georgia’s local economy and the U.S. electric vehicle industry. The raid, however, exposed underlying tensions in visa and immigration policy affecting South Korean workers in the U.S. Korean businesses often use short-term tourist waivers to rotate workers due to long lead times and quotas on H-1B work visas, a practice that U.S. authorities generally overlooked until this operation.
Experts in international business and trade have warned that the strict immigration enforcement might harm U.S. competitiveness, particularly in strategic sectors like semiconductors and electric vehicle production, where cooperation with South Korean firms is critical amid broader geopolitical rivalry with China.
Industry analysts argue that a more refined immigration policy is needed to balance enforcement with the facilitation of foreign direct investment and skilled labor mobility, ensuring that activities such as the Hyundai plant construction can proceed without disruption while respecting legal constraints.
Next Steps
As negotiations continue, South Korea and the U.S. aim to complete repatriation swiftly while ensuring those detained can return if needed to complete project work. The diplomatic engagement underscores the sensitive balance between immigration enforcement and maintaining strong economic ties with key allies and trading partners.
This highly publicized case has sparked dialogue on U.S. immigration practices, foreign investment, and workforce management in strategic industries, highlighting the complexities faced in an interconnected global economy.