South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has ordered an intensive response following the arrest of hundreds of Korean nationals during a raid on a Hyundai Motor-LG battery plant in the United States.
The arrest of approximately 475 workers, including more than 300 South Korean nationals, on Thursday at the plant near Savannah, Georgia, in the southern United States, was the largest enforcement operation conducted at a single site by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-suk said Saturday that President Lee had instructed authorities to swiftly resolve the issue, stressing the need to ensure that the rights and interests of South Korean citizens and the businesses of South Korean companies investing in the United States are not compromised, according to a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
Cho added that the government had formed a team to respond to the detention of more than 300 Koreans at the facility under construction in South Georgia, and that he could travel to Washington to meet with officials if necessary.
“We are deeply concerned and feel a heavy responsibility over the detention of our citizens,” Cho was quoted as saying by Yonhap, ahead of an emergency meeting Saturday on the incident.
“We will discuss the immediate dispatch of a senior Foreign Ministry official to the country and, if necessary, I will personally travel to Washington for consultations with the US administration,” he said.
The factory where the raid took place, part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating immigration crackdown, supplies batteries for electric vehicles.
In response to a reporter’s question about the raid, Trump said Friday at a White House event: “I would say these were illegal immigrants, and ICE was simply doing its job.”
Steven Schrank, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, justified the arrests by saying that some of those arrested had crossed the U.S. border illegally, others had arrived on visas prohibiting them from working, and some had overstayed their work visas.
South Korea’s opposition People’s Power Party (PPP) reacted angrily to the arrests, warning that they “could pose a grave danger” to the country.
“This is a serious matter that could have broader repercussions for Korean businesses and communities across the United States,” party chairman Jang Dong-hyuk said in a statement.
Park Sung-hoon, a party spokesman, blamed the incident on Lee, saying his “pragmatic diplomacy” toward the United States had “failed to ensure the safety of citizens and the competitiveness” of South Korean companies.
He added that Lee’s government had promised at least $50 billion in investment during its recent meeting with Trump, a gesture that only resulted in a “campaign of repression” against South Korean citizens.
In a statement, Hyundai Motor said it was “closely monitoring the situation,” adding that none of the people arrested “worked directly” with the company.
LG Energy Solutions confirmed it was “gathering all relevant information” and “fully cooperating with the relevant authorities.” South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, is a major auto and electronics manufacturer and has several factories in the United States. Its companies have invested billions of dollars to build factories in the United States, seeking access to the American market and avoiding Trump’s tariff threats.