The South Korean government has successfully negotiated the release of its citizens detained during a large-scale immigration raid at a Hyundai facility in Georgia, with a chartered flight arranged to bring them home. This development follows a swift diplomatic response from Seoul after U.S. officials described the operation as the largest single-site enforcement action in the history of the Department of Homeland Security.
The raid, which took place on Thursday at a construction site where Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution are building an electric vehicle battery plant, resulted in the detention of 475 people. Of those detained, more than 300 were South Korean nationals, according to South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
On Sunday, President Lee Jae-myung's chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, announced that negotiations with the United States had "concluded", with only administrative procedures remaining before a chartered flight could depart to bring the workers back. This diplomatic resolution came after President Lee had earlier ordered an "all-out response" to assist the affected citizens.
U.S. law enforcement officials stated that the raid was the culmination of a months-long criminal investigation into alleged unlawful employment practices at the site. Steven Schrank, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, said those detained included individuals who had crossed the border illegally, overstayed their visas, or violated visa waivers by working.
While Hyundai Motor Company stated that none of those detained were directly employed by the company, LG Energy Solution confirmed that 47 of its employees and approximately 250 of its subcontractors were among the detainees. In the aftermath of the raid, LG Energy Solution suspended most business travel to the U.S. and advised its employees already there to return home immediately.