Over 300 South Koreans detained in US to be released, Seoul says
South Korean authorities have announced that more than 300 workers detained in the United States during an immigration raid will soon be released and returned home.
The workers, employed at a Hyundai-LG battery plant under construction in Georgia, were arrested on Thursday in what officials said was the largest single-site raid conducted so far under President Donald Trump’s nationwide anti-migrant initiative.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to President Lee Jae Myung, said on Sunday: “As a result of the swift and united response… negotiations for the release of the detained workers have been concluded. Only administrative procedures remain. Once these are completed, a chartered flight will depart to bring our citizens home.”
Footage released by US authorities showed the detained workers, handcuffed and with chains around their ankles, being loaded onto a transport bus.
LG Energy Solution said 47 of its employees were among those arrested – 46 South Koreans and one Indonesian – while about 250 others were contractors, most of them South Korean nationals.
A senior LG executive, Kim Ki-soo, flew to Georgia on Sunday to oversee efforts to secure the workers’ release. He told reporters: “The immediate priority now is the swift release of both our LG Energy Solution employees and those of our partner firms.”
Seoul officials said the rapid negotiations had helped avoid a prolonged diplomatic and corporate crisis.
