Hundreds of South Korean workers detained during a major U.S. immigration raid at a Hyundai battery plant in Georgia are set to return home this week.
A chartered Korean Air flight left Incheon International Airport on Wednesday bound for Atlanta, where it is expected to collect the workers and fly them back to Seoul on Thursday, Reuters reported.
The repatriation comes as South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun meets U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House. Before leaving for Washington, Cho vowed to work with U.S. officials to prevent a repeat of the incident.
Last week, American authorities detained 475 workers—more than 300 of them South Korean nationals during the raid. Officials said the workers, mostly mechanics contracted to install production lines, were employed illegally at the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery facility, one of the largest foreign investment projects in Georgia.
The operation has unsettled Seoul, given South Korea’s pledge to invest tens of billions of dollars in the U.S. to strengthen trade ties and offset tariffs. The timing of the raid, during sensitive trade negotiations, has fueled concerns it could chill future investment.
The White House defended the action, saying it would not undermine America’s attractiveness to foreign investors. President Donald Trump, referencing the raid in a social media post, reiterated his call for foreign firms to hire Americans. He added that Washington would make it “quickly and legally possible” for foreign companies to bring in overseas workers if they complied with immigration laws.
