Last Updated:
South Korea and the United States agreed on the release of detained Korean workers after a major raid at the Hyundai Motor plant in Georgia, the largest such US operation to date.
US Immigration Raids Hyundai Plant. (Screengrab from X)
South Korea has concluded discussions with the United States regarding the release of detained Korean workers in Georgia, a presidential official confirmed on Sunday.
A plane will be on its way to bring back the Koreans once administrative procedures are completed, Kang Hun-sik, the Presidential Chief of Staff, said in televised remarks, Reuters reported.
Recommended Stories
This comes after U.S. 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.
Most of the 475 people arrested in the raid were South Koreans suspected of working illegally in the US. According to the officials, it was the biggest single-site operation yet under President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration campaign.
This comes amid strained relations between Washington and Seoul over the former’s imposition of tariffs on imported goods. The two countries have been at odds over the details of a trade agreement that includes $350 billion of investments.
In a video released by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday, a caravan of vehicles was seen driving up to the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint venture plant in the town of Ellabell, and federal agents subsequently directed workers wearing hard hats and safety vests to line up outside.
The plant is set to produce batteries for electric vehicles and has been called Georgia’s largest economic development project by state officials.
The videos circulating on social media showed a man wearing a vest with the letters HIS, an acronym for Homeland Security Investigations, telling workers in yellow safety vests: “We have a search warrant for the whole site. We need construction to cease immediately. We need all the work to end on the site right now.”
Some detainees were instructed to place their hands on a bus while being frisked and then restrained with shackles on their hands, ankles, and waist. Others were secured with plastic ties around their wrists as they boarded a Georgia inmate-transfer bus.
Federal agents arrived at the site like it was a “war zone”, a construction worker told CNN. “They just told everybody to get on the wall. We stood there for about an hour and were then taken to another section where we waited. Then we went inside another building and got processed,” he said, seeking anonymity.
The agents asked each worker’s Social Security number, date of birth, and other identification details. Those found to be legally in the US were given a paper labelled “clear to depart,” which they were instructed to show to officers at the plant’s exit, according to an employee.
South Korea, Asia’s fourth biggest economy, is a key automaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the US. South Korean firms have invested billions to establish factories in America to tap the US market and sidestep potential tariffs under President Trump.
Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Atlanta, said those arrested during the raid were “illegally present in the United States” and “working unlawfully”.
According to him, some of those arrested had entered the US illegally, while others were in the country on visas that did not allow them to work, or had overstayed their work visas.
“This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation,” he said.
An immigration attorney for two of the detained workers stated that his clients had entered from South Korea under a visa waiver program, allowing them to travel for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, several workers tried to flee the spot, including some who “ran into a sewage pond located on the premises”.
“Agents used a boat to fish them out of the water. One of the individuals swam under the boat and tried to flip it over to no avail,” the US Attorney’s Office said. “These people were captured and identified as illegal workers.”
Schrank further noted that “this was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses”. “This has been a multi-month criminal investigation,” he said.
The raids stemmed from a “criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes” at the plant. “There was a majority of Korean nationals from the 475,” he said, adding that it was the “largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations.”
Meanwhile, South Korea has recently reached a major trade deal with the U.S., which includes a $350 billion fund to help Korean companies enter the U.S. market.
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.
The South Korean official on Sunday said the government will seek ways to improve the visa system of Korean workers travelling to the U.S. to “prevent a similar incident.”
United States of America (USA)
September 07, 2025, 20:53 IST
Loading comments…
Read More
