South Korean companies will be 'very hesitant' about investing in the US following a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in the state of Georgia last week, President Lee Jae-myung has said.
More than 300 South Koreans who were arrested in the raid are due to return home on Friday. Their departure has been delayed 'due to circumstances on the US side', according to officials.
'The situation is extremely bewildering,' said Lee, noting it is customary for Korean firms to send workers to assist in establishing overseas factories. 'If that's no longer allowed, establishing manufacturing facilities in the US will only become more difficult... making companies question whether it's worth doing at all.'
The BBC has contacted the White House for comment. Last week, US officials detained 475 people - more than 300 of them South Korean nationals - who they claimed were working illegally at the battery facility, which is one of the largest foreign investment projects in the state.
Lee, who addressed a press conference marking the first 100 days of his presidency, revealed that Seoul is negotiating with Washington on visa options for South Korean workers, aiming 'whether that means securing [higher] quotas or creating new visa categories'.
The workers' departure from the US was delayed due to an instruction issued by the White House, he added. 'The order reportedly came from President Trump, instructing that the workers should have the freedom to remain in the US if they wished.'
LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant with Hyundai, stated that many arrested employees had various types of visas or were under a visa waiver scheme. One worker at the plant described the chaos and fear during the raid, stating that most of those detained were mechanics hired to install production lines at the site.
South Korea, a close US ally in Asia, has pledged to invest tens of billions of dollars in America, partly to offset tariffs. Media outlets in South Korea have characterized the raid as a 'shock', cautioning that it could deter business operations of South Korean companies in the US.
In response, the Yonhap News Agency published an editorial urging both countries to collaborate in mending their alliance. The timing of the raid, during sensitive trade negotiations, has sparked concern in Seoul.
While the White House has defended the operation, asserting that the raid will not hinder foreign investments, President Trump remarked on social media following the raid, advocating for foreign firms to hire Americans. He assured that the US government would facilitate the legal entry of foreign workers if immigration laws were respected.
