South Korea To Bring Home 300 Workers Detained In Massive Hyundai Plant Raid In Georgia

More than 300 South Korean workers detained in a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia will be released and brought home, Seoul officials announced Sunday.

Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to President Lee Jae Myung, said South Korea and the United States had reached an agreement on the workers’ release. He said a chartered flight will be arranged once administrative steps are complete. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is scheduled to travel to Washington on Monday for further talks.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday that 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, were detained when hundreds of agents raided Hyundai’s electric vehicle and battery plant under construction in Georgia. Officials said detainees included those who had overstayed visas or violated entry rules, while others had entered illegally.

The raid, one of the largest under President Donald Trump’s renewed mass deportation agenda, has drawn sharp criticism in South Korea. The site targeted is considered Georgia’s biggest economic development project and central to U.S.–Korean business ties.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry expressed “concern and regret” over the arrests, warning that the rights of South Korean nationals and corporate operations must be respected during U.S. enforcement actions. Diplomats have been dispatched to assist those detained, most of whom were transferred to a detention facility in Folkston, near the Florida state line.

Kang said Seoul will review visa procedures for workers on overseas business trips tied to major investment projects.