U.S. and South Korea agree on terms for freeing employees held at a Georgia factory
In a series of workplace raids conducted by U.S. authorities, the Hyundai plant in Georgia was one of the sites targeted. The raid, which took place at a facility where Korean automaker Hyundai makes electric vehicles, has caused concern and regret among the South Korean government.
On Friday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, during a raid at Hyundai's manufacturing site in Georgia. The factory, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution, is often referred to as the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery plant, and is located in Bryan County, Georgia, USA.
As of the news conference on Friday, no one among the detained has been charged with any crimes. The investigation into the raid at the Hyundai plant is ongoing, according to Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations.
The South Korean government has announced that more than 300 South Korean workers, detained in the raid, will be released and brought home. South Korean diplomats have been sent to the site of the raid at the Hyundai plant.
The raid on the Hyundai plant was carried out as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda, which has been a contentious issue in U.S. politics. The South Korean government, however, remains a close ally of the U.S.
Most of the detained individuals were taken to an immigration detention center in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida state line. A charter plane is planned to be sent by South Korea to bring the workers home once administrative steps are completed.
The raid on Thursday is distinct due to its large size and the fact that it targeted a manufacturing site that state officials consider Georgia's largest economic development project. The Hyundai plant under investigation is a construction site for a facility partnered with LG Energy Solution to produce batteries for electric vehicles.
The South Korean government has expressed its concern over the raid targeting its citizens and negotiations between South Korea and the U.S. have been finalized for the release of the detained workers. The news of their impending release has brought relief to the affected workers and their families.
