September 9, 2025 | 07:28 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - South Korea will send a chartered plane to Atlanta on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, to repatriate the workers who were detained in a recent immigration raid at an electric car battery plant in the state of Georgia, United States. This was revealed by a spokesperson for Korean Air on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, as reported by CNA.
A Boeing 747-8i Korean Air plane with a capacity of 368 seats will fly from Incheon, South Korea, to Atlanta, according to the spokesperson.
During the U.S. immigration raid, about 300 South Korean citizens were arrested along with 175 others at the site of Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution's $4.3 billion electric car battery project. One of those arrested was an Indonesian citizen.
President Lee Jae Myung said Seoul will negotiate with Washington to reach a fair resolution based on their alliance spirit. Lee added in a cabinet meeting that he feels "a heavy responsibility" for the detained citizens.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is in Washington to negotiate several issues, such as requesting assurances that repatriated Koreans will be allowed to reenter the United States.
The immigration raid, the largest single law enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security's investigative operations, has surprised South Korea, a U.S. ally that has been seeking to finalize a trade deal agreed upon with Washington in July.
A Realmeter poll published on Tuesday showed that nearly 60 percent of South Koreans are disappointed with what they perceive as an excessive action by U.S. authorities in the raid, while about 30 percent see the action as unavoidable.
Two Japanese citizens and up to nine Chinese citizens were among the detainees, reported the business daily Nikkei.
Activists holding banners reading "No one is illegal!" chanted slogans at a press conference to protest the recent large-scale immigration raid at the U.S. electric car battery project site involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution.
James Rim, who heads the Korean-American Association in Southeast Georgia and manages the guesthouses used by Korean workers near the Hyundai plant, said two residents were detained after they were found to have participated in a visa waiver program that prohibits working in the country.
On Thursday night after the raid, they did not return for dinner, Rim said, adding that two of their colleagues returned to the guesthouse after undergoing examination during the raid.
"I heard two of them saw an officer that didn't let them go, while the other two managed to leave after talking to another officer," Rim said.
Details on how U.S. immigration rules may have been violated have not been released by the authorities or the companies involved, but South Korean lawmakers said some may have exceeded the 90-day visa waiver program or the temporary business visa B-1.
Foreign Minister Cho said he will discuss with Washington the creation of special work permits for Korean professionals.
Korean business operators complain about what they perceive as strict U.S. visa restrictions for skilled foreign workers, which make it difficult for them to oversee the construction of factories or train local workers.
According to workers, officials, and lawyers, many South Korean workers were sent to the U.S. with questionable paperwork despite receiving concerns and warnings about stricter U.S. immigration law enforcement.
After the raid, Rim said some of the 20 subcontractors working at the factory and also staying in his dormitory returned to South Korea earlier.
"Not everyone, but some of the workers came here on a visa waiver," Rim said, adding that this had long been a standard practice.
"It should have been done earlier but I think now is a good chance to give some kind of a special work permit to Koreans. Otherwise, it would be difficult to build factories only with a local workforce," he said.
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