The South Korean government said Monday that it was arranging for hundreds of its nationals to leave the United States voluntarily after they were detained in an immigration raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia that has strained relations with the key U.S. ally.
The South Korean foreign ministry said it was in consultations with U.S. officials to ensure the return of its detained nationals “at the earliest possible date.”
“We will not let down our guard until every one of our people returns safely,” a South Korean foreign ministry official said in a background briefing.
About 300 mostly South Korean nationals were detained Thursday when officials from Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies raided a construction site in the town of Ellabell, where the South Korean companies Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are jointly building a battery plant next to their manufacturing facility for electric vehicles.
“I will make it clear that if completion [of the factory] is delayed, the United States will also suffer significant losses,” South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyu told lawmakers on Monday.
U.S. officials said the raid, part of the Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on immigrants, was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security.
The detentions have drawn outrage in South Korea, with one lawmaker calling them a “slap in the face” after Seoul pledged to invest $500 billion in strategic U.S. industries, including $26 billion from Hyundai, as part of tariff negotiations. Others have said the incident could dampen broader business ties between the U.S. and South Korea, an automotive and electronics giant with sought-after expertise.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, President Donald Trump denied that the incident had hurt relations with South Korea, the world’s 10th-largest economy.
“We have a great relationship with South Korea,” he said.
Trump added that “ICE was doing right, because they were here illegally. But we do have to work something out where we bring in experts so that our people can be trained, so that they can do it themselves.”
In post on Truth Social, he called on foreign companies to “please respect our Nation’s Immigration Laws.”
“Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so,” Trump wrote. “What we ask in return is that you hire and train American Workers.”
The South Korean foreign ministry official said the two countries were “working through all channels between Seoul and Washington for early resolution of this incident.” Foreign Minister Cho was scheduled to leave for the United States on Monday afternoon local time to finalize the details.
The official said an on-site task force led by the South Korean consul general had been operating since Friday, and that consular interviews were conducted over the weekend with about 250 detained South Korean nationals who requested them.
“None of the interviewees raised health issues or complaints about detention conditions, nor were there reports of human rights violations,” the official said, adding that the task force has asked ICE to ensure that South Korean nationals were not “placed in unfair conditions.”
The official said it was unclear when the South Korean nationals would return home, as it would take time to arrange the charter flight, verify their identities, confirm their intention to depart voluntarily and transport them to the airport.
“These cannot be done in a single day, but we are working to complete them as quickly as possible,” the official said.
The official said the goal was for all of the South Koreans to return home on a charter flight, “but if an individual does not wish to and insists on pursuing legal proceedings, we must respect that choice.”
Charles Kuck, an Atlanta-based immigration attorney representing two of those detained, told NBC News on Friday that his clients were in the U.S. on the Visa Waiver Program, which permits tourism or business stays of up to 90 days.
“I’m convinced neither of these guys are violating their status in any way,” he said.
The South Korean foreign ministry official said there had been no further reported cases of South Koreans being detained while under the Visa Waiver Program.
“Preventing recurrence will require close coordination with the U.S. and greater effort by companies to obtain the correct visas,” the official said.
South Korean companies doing business with the U.S. have expressed frustration over the difficulties in obtaining the proper visas for their employees both before and during the current Trump administration.
Hyundai, South Korea’s largest automaker, said in a statement Friday that none of those detained were direct employees and that it was committed to full compliance with all laws and regulations.
LG Energy Solution said Saturday that 47 of its employees were detained, 46 of them Korean, along with 250 personnel from “equipment partner companies,” most of them Korean.
It has instructed its employees to suspend all U.S. business trips except for customer meetings, and told those currently traveling to return home immediately or remain at their accommodations. Hyundai told NBC News in a text message Monday that its U.S. business travel remained in place, “with some scheduled trips subject to internal review.”
The facility in Ellabell, about 28 miles west of the city of Savannah, employs about 1,400 people and is considered one of Georgia’s largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites.
“As far as we know, the project has been halted,” the South Korean foreign ministry official said. “Restarting it is up to the company.”