September 7, 2025 | 02:09 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The President of South Korea, Lee Jae-myung, has ordered all-out efforts to respond to the arrest of hundreds of its nationals in an immigration raid at the Hyundai Motor-LG battery plant in the United States. On Thursday, the arrest of approximately 475 workers marked the largest law enforcement operation carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Of that number, around 300 are South Korean nationals. The raid took place at the plant near Savannah in the southern U.S. state of Georgia.
On Saturday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said that President Lee had instructed officials to address the issue promptly. He emphasized that the rights and interests of South Korean nationals and the business operations of South Korean companies investing in the U.S. must not be violated, according to a report by the official South Korean news agency Yonhap cited by Al Jazeera.
Cho said the government had formed a team to address the arrests of more than 300 Koreans at the plant under construction. He is likely to go to Washington, DC, to meet with officials if necessary.
"We are deeply concerned and feel a heavy sense of responsibility over the arrests of our nationals," Cho said before an emergency meeting on Saturday, September 6, 2025. "We will discuss sending a senior Foreign Ministry official to the site without delay, and, if necessary, I will personally travel to Washington to hold consultations with the U.S. administration."
The raided Hyundai plant manufactures batteries for electric vehicles. The raid took place amid President Donald Trump's escalating immigration crackdown.
Responding to journalists' questions about the immigration raid, Trump commented on Friday during an event at the White House. "I would say that they were illegal aliens, and ICE was just doing its job."
Steven Schrank, an ICE official, confirmed the detentions. He said that some of those detained had entered the U.S. illegally. Others arrived with visas that prohibited them from working, while some exceeded the limits of their work visas.
The opposition People Power Party (PPP) in South Korea reacted angrily to the detentions. They warned that the detentions could pose serious risks to the country.
"This is a grave matter that could lead to broader repercussions for Korean companies and communities across the United States," said PPP Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok in a statement.
A senior PPP spokesperson, Park Sung-hoon, blamed Lee for the incident. He said that Lee's pragmatic diplomacy towards the U.S. failed to ensure the safety of South Korean nationals and the competitiveness of South Korean businesses.
South Korea, the fourth-largest economy in Asia, is a major producer of automobiles and electronics with many plants in the U.S. In an effort to access the U.S. market and avoid the threat of tariffs from Trump, its companies have invested billions of dollars to build factories in the U.S.
In addition to the South Korean nationals, an Indonesian citizen was also caught in the ICE raid. According to Judha Nugraha, Director of Indonesian Citizen Protection at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indonesian identified as CHT was at the Hyundai Metaplant. During the raid, CHT was on a business visit to Hyundai and had complete documentation for his agenda in the U.S.
"CHT had a 1-month business trip plan in the U.S. and was equipped with a passport, a visa, and an invitation from the company," said Judha, as cited by Antara, Sunday, September 7, 2025.
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