South Korean President Lee urges review of response to detention of S. Koreans in US
Seoul: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ordered his staff to review whether there were shortcomings in the response to the detention of South Korean workers at the construction site of a battery plant in the US, the Presidential Office said on Monday.
Lee issued the directive after receiving a briefing on the case, in which more than 300 South Koreans were taken into custody at a detention centre in Georgia following September 4 raid by US immigration authorities on the electric battery plant construction site operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution, Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters as reported by Yonhap news agency.
Lee specifically instructed officials to examine “whether there were shortcomings” in the government’s handling of the unprecedented mass raid at a single site.
Asked about the Presidential Office’s stance on the incident, Kang said, “We are fully aware of the uncomfortable feelings, anxiety and dissatisfaction that the public may have.”
She stressed the government will “firmly maintain the South Korea-US alliance” while also taking public concerns into account.
The arrests of South Korean workers have sparked public anger in Seoul, as video footage released by the immigration authorities showed the Koreans being shackled with handcuffs and metal chains and loaded onto an inmate transport vehicle.
The raid came at a time when South Korean companies have been aggressively expanding US investments, especially amid the Trump administration’s push to revive American manufacturing, shipbuilding and other industries.
On Monday, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun departed for Washington to finalise arrangements to bring back home the detained South Korean nationals on a chartered plane.
On September 4, more than 300 South Korean nationals out of 457 people have been taken into custody during a US immigration raid on the site operated by South Korean companies — Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution — in Georgia.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that those arrested were found to be working illegally in the US, including those on short-term or recreational visas that prohibit them from working.
US officials cast Thursday’s raid as “the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations”.
US President Donald Trump expressed his support on Friday for the ICE operation, describing those detained as “illegal aliens”.