Deal to Send 300 Workers Held in Hyundai Raid to South Korea

South Korea and the US have struck a deal to release about 300 South Korean workers detained last week in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia. The Seoul government said Sunday that it will send a plane to the US to bring the workers home, the Wall Street Journal reports. About 475 people in all were arrested individuals arrested in the federal raid; many of the South Koreans were employed by subcontractors working at the construction site of an electric vehicle battery plant—a joint venture between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution.

South Korea was not notified of the raid in advance, straining relations with the US, despite the nations' close economic and strategic ties. "We are deeply concerned and feel a heavy sense of responsibility over the arrests of our nationals," Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said at an emergency meeting in Seoul, per the national Yonhap News Agency. President Lee Jae Myung emphasized "that the rights and interests of South Korean nationals and the business operations of South Korean companies investing in the United States must not be infringed upon," the agency reported, per NPR. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reportedly plans to leave Monday for the US for talks about the matter, per the AP.

Trump administration officials say the workers detained had either crossed the border illegally, misused visa waivers, or overstayed their visas, per the Journal. Many of the South Korean nationals reportedly held B-1 visas, which typically are intended for training rather than employment, and were serving as instructors at the site. South Korea said it will review its procedures and work more closely with companies to ensure future deployments of workers comply with US immigration laws. The plant represents Hyundai's largest manufacturing investment in Georgia, and the company has pledged billions more for expansion in the US.