More than 300 South Korean workers arrested during an ICE raid at a Hyundai electric battery factory in southeast Georgia last week are still being held, as their expected return flight has been delayed. Their release, previously agreed upon, has been pushed back “due to circumstances on the U.S. side,” according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.
U.S. immigration agents detained approximately 475 people at the construction site on Hyundai’s campus near Savannah. More than 300 of those arrested are South Korean citizens currently held at a detention center in Folkston, Georgia. The South Korean government expressed “concern and regret” over the raid, stressing that Korean businesses’ operations and citizens’ rights must be respected during such enforcement actions.
A chartered flight arranged to repatriate the workers was scheduled to depart Atlanta, but Seoul officials later said it would not be possible for the plane to leave Wednesday as planned. Talks between U.S. and South Korean authorities are ongoing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly involved in negotiations aimed at ensuring the workers can depart voluntarily rather than under deportation orders—a distinction that affects their eligibility for returning to the U.S. in the future.
The raid has stirred controversy because many of the detained workers reportedly held B‑1 business visas, which allow foreign visitors to assist with business-related activities without unauthorized employment. Lawyers for several of those detained have claimed that much of the work the Korean workers were doing falls within what is allowed under these visas.
The plant in question is part of a joint $7.6 billion investment by Hyundai and LG Energy, dubbed the “Metaplant,” and is among Georgia’s largest economic development projects. The development’s economic promise has now been overshadowed by diplomatic tensions and concerns over how U.S. immigration law is being enforced.
