South Korea’s foreign minister might travel to the United States in reaction to a raid on a Hyundai plant located in Georgia, where 475 individuals were detained, the majority being South Korean nationals.
Cho Hyun mentioned that Seoul was considering a visit soon to address the arrests on behalf of President Lee Jae Myung, who recently appeared very cordial with Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House two weeks ago.
Cho expressed, “We are greatly concerned and feel a significant sense of responsibility regarding the arrests of our citizens,” during an urgent meeting on Saturday, as reported by the Yonhap News Agency.
Cho confirmed that approximately 300 of the 475 arrested were South Korean nationals, with photos showing some of those arrested being put in chains.
‘We are deeply concerned and feel a heavy sense of responsibility over the arrests of our nationals,’ he said.
“We will promptly discuss dispatching a senior foreign ministry official to the location, and if needed, I will personally go to Washington to engage in talks with the U.S. administration,” Cho further stated.
The message from the president has been to ensure that rights of both those arrested and their companies not be infringed upon.
The matter was highlighted by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo in a phone conversation with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker. Park expressed disappointment over the enforcement action and the release of video footage showing the Korean workers being arrested.
Images captured show South Korea’s foreign minister possibly visiting the United States after the incident at a Hyundai plant in Georgia, where most of those apprehended were South Korean nationals, and some images depict the detainees being shackled.
Cho Hyun said Seoul was considering an imminent visit to discuss the arrests on behalf of President Lee Jae Myung (pictured right), who was all smiles with Donald Trump at a White House meeting two weeks ago
Park said ‘the economic activities of Korean companies investing in the United States and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during US law enforcement operations,’ his ministry said.
Park ‘asked the State Department to actively work to ensure a fair and swift resolution to this matter,’ the statement added.
The mass arrests have already prompted a diplomatic dispute as South Korea’s Foreign Ministry dispatched officials to the factory.
The ministry also urged the U.S. Embassy in Seoul ‘to exercise extreme caution to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of Korean citizens are not infringed upon.’
‘The economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during U.S. law enforcement operations,’ the statement read.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the State Department for further comment.
Officials said a total of 475 immigrants suspected of working in the US illegally were detained – the vast majority of them from Korea – which represented almost half of the factory’s 1200 workers.
Steven Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia, told reporters Friday that he was unsure how many exactly were Korean and said no criminal charges had yet been filed.
Cho (pictured) confirmed that approximately 300 of the 475 arrested were South Korean nationals
Officials said a total of 475 immigrants suspected of working in the US illegally were detained – the vast majority of them from Korea – which represented almost half of the factory’s 1200 workers
Many of those who were detained had entered the US illegally while others previously had visas but overstayed their legal work permits, officials said.
Schrank added that the raid was the result of a months-long investigation into the facility, and described the sweep as the largest enforcement operation at a single site in the history of Homeland Security Investigations.
‘This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy and protecting workers from exploitation,’ he said.
The massive raid comes days after the Trump administration announced it was stepping up its deportation efforts and would clear the way to detain as many as 256,000 Venezuelans by ending their temporary protection status.
Following the raid on the Hyundai factory on Thursday, officials said the detainees would be moved to an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida-Georgia state line.
‘They will be moved based on their individual circumstances beyond that,’ Schrank said.
The move was quickly condemned by Yvonne Brooks, the president of Georgia’s chapter of American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), who blasted it as ‘politically motivated.’
‘This raid is the latest in an ongoing campaign of harassment that has targeted immigrant Georgians as they try to earn an honest living,’ she said in a statement, per CBS News.
‘Arresting and detaining workers, who are exploited every day and risk their lives every day on the job, creates an atmosphere of fear that terrorizes workers and their families and increases the workload burden on their coworkers.’
The Hyundai plant where the raid occurred cost upwards of $7.6 billion and employed around 1,200 people, and had been touted by Georgia officials as one of the most significant economic projects in the state’s history.
Hyundai began manufacturing electric vehicles at the plant a year ago, but construction was shut down by the raid.
