South Korea workers detained in US raid head home
Last week, more than 300 South Korean will come home on Friday, a large immigrant raid in a Hyundai factory in Georgian state last week.
The returns warned the country’s president and Hyundai’s general manager on the impact of the pressure.
In the raid, the workers who were detained and a 14 Korean Air Jeeth woke up on Thursday from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in local hours (17:00 BST). A South Korean citizen reportedly chose to stay in the US to seek permanent residence.
The aircraft is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport at 15:30 on Friday at 15:30.
In a statement on Thursday, the White House said that the departure was delayed more than a day due to a instruction.
According to the South Korean Foreign Ministry official, President Donald Trump ordered workers to check if they want to continue working in the United States and continue to educate Americans.
BBC contacted the White House for comment.
Lee also said that there would be “very hesitation” about investment in the US following the raid of companies.
“The situation is extremely surprising,” Lee added that it is a common practice for Korean companies to send workers to help the establishment of overseas factories.
“If this is no longer allowed, it will be more difficult to establish production facilities in the USA … To question whether companies are worth making.”
Seoul negotiates with Washington about visa options for South Korean workers ” [higher] Don’t create quotas or new visa categories, Lee Lee said.
On Friday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that the US Congress wanted to support a new visa for Korean companies.
The ministry said that during the meetings with US senators in Washington this week, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reiterated concerns between the South Koreans about the arrests.
Meanwhile, Hyundai’s general manager José Muñoz said that the pressure will delay the opening of the factory.
Mr. Muñoz, the US media raid “at least two to three months of delay [in opening the factory] Because now all these people want to go back. “
AFPLast week, US officials detained 475 people who said they were working illegally in the Battery facility, one of the largest foreign investment projects in Georgia, as more than 300 South Korean citizens.
LG Energy Solution, which operates with Hyundai, said that most of its arrested employees have various types of visa or under the visa waiver program.
A worker in the facility spoke to the BBC about panic and confusion during the raid. The employee said that the majority of the workers who were detained are mechanics that set up production lines on the field and that they were employed by a contractor.
South Korea, a close ally in Asia, promised to invest tens of billions of dollars in America to balance tariffs.
The media in the country described the raid as “shock”, the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper warned that “it may have a creepy effect on the activities of our businesses in the United States”.
On Thursday, Yonhap News Agency released an editor calling the two countries to “cooperate to repair the cracks in the alliances”.
As the two governments participated in sensitive trade negotiations, the schedule of pressure caused concern in Seoul.
The White House defended the operation at the Hyundai factory and rejected the concerns that the pressure could deterd the foreign investment.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump referred to the raid in a social media mission and asked foreign companies to hire Americans.
Trump said that if the US government respects foreign firms to bring workers to the country if they respect immigration laws, it would provide “fast and legally possible”.
Hosu Lee’s additional reports in Seoul
