South Korea says US will release workers detained in Georgia
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The news: South Korea has reached a deal with the US government to release South Korean citizens who had been detained last week during an immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor facility in Georgia.
The context: Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff of South Korea’s presidential office, said Sunday that a chartered plane would be sent to the US to bring the citizens home. Kang did not disclose details about the timing of the repatriation nor any other elements of the deal agreed with the US.
US law enforcement officials carried out the largest single-site immigration raid in the history of the Department of Homeland Security's investigative operations at the electric vehicle battery factory near Savannah on Thursday, detaining 475 people, around 300 of whom were South Korean citizens. South Korea’s foreign ministry said many of the South Korean citizens detained were subcontractors working at the plant which is a joint venture by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution.
US authorities had said that the arrested individuals had crossed the border illegally, entered through a visa waiver program that prohibited them from working or had overstayed their visas.
South Korea recently reached a major trade deal with the US, which included a USD350 billion fund to help Korean companies enter the US market.
