In a significant development following a sweeping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Georgia, South Korean officials have confirmed that detained nationals will be repatriated aboard a chartered plane. The announcement marks a diplomatic response to what South Korea’s chief of staff described as an unfair infringement upon its workers.
On Thursday, ICE executed what has been dubbed the largest single-site enforcement operation in its history at an electric vehicle battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, jointly operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution. Authorities arrested approximately 475 people, the majority of whom were South Korean nationals, amid allegations of visa violations and unlawful employment .
The raid, involving dramatic use of helicopters, armored vehicles, and heavily armed agents, sparked swift criticism from Seoul. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo labeled the release of video footage showing Korean workers shackled during the raid as “regrettable,” particularly given the fragile state of U.S.–South Korea relations at the time .
President Lee Jae Myung’s administration wasted no time in responding. Emphasizing that “our companies’ business activities and our workers’ rights should not be unfairly infringed in the U.S. law enforcement process,” the presidential chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, confirmed that South Korea had concluded talks with U.S. officials and arranged a chartered flight for their return home .
The incident arrives amid high-stakes economic diplomacy, with Seoul having pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. investments. The raid’s timing and visibility have raised concerns about potential damage to the climate of trust underpinning U.S.–South Korea economic and diplomatic cooperation
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