South Korea says talks on release of workers detained in US raid concluded

SEOUL: A senior official at South Korea’s presidential office said on Sunday that negotiations for the release of South Korean workers detained by a recent US immigration raid in Georgia have concluded, adding that a chartered plane would head for the US if administration procedures are completed, Yonhap reported.

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik made the announcement after hundreds of South Koreans were taken into custody during the raid Thursday on a battery plant construction site operated by South Korean companies in Bryan County.

“There are still administrative procedures left”, Kang said during a senior-level meeting between the ruling Democratic Party and the government. “Once the procedures are complete, the chartered plane will depart to bring our citizens”, as per Yonhap.

Kang also vowed to push for improvements to the visa system for South Korean nationals traveling to the US for work to prevent similar incidents.

ICE has released a video of its raid on Hyundai–LG’s Georgia battery plant site, showing Korean workers chained up and led away.

South Korea’s foreign ministry has confirmed over 300 of the 457 taken into custody are Korean nationals. https://t.co/wloUNpE4MG pic.twitter.com/brORwXGxun

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) September 6, 2025

More than 300 South Korean nationals out of 457 people have been taken into custody during the raid on the site operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said those arrested were found to be working illegally in the US, including those on short-term or recreational visas that prohibit them from working.

US officials cast the raid as “the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations”.

First Vice Minister Park Yoon-joo held a phone call with Allison Hooker, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, to discuss bilateral and international issues. Park requested the State Department’s cooperation regarding the matter and expressed regret over the crackdown and the public disclosure of the scene where South Korean nationals were being arrested, as per Global Times.

Park also reiterated that the economic activities of South Korean companies investing in the US and the rights and interests of South Korean nationals should not be unfairly infringed upon during US law enforcement processes and emphasised that the State Department should also actively step in for a fair and swift resolution of the matter, Global Times reported. (ANI)