Particle.news
Download on the App Store
170 ARTICLES
·
3w ago

Over 300 South Koreans Return Home After Georgia ICE Raid as Hyundai–LG Battery Project Slips

Diplomatic talks yielded a chartered repatriation alongside a pledge to explore new visa pathways for Korean technicians.

Detainees are made to stand against a bus before being handcuffed, during a raid by federal agents where about 300 South Koreans were among 475 people arrested at the site of a $4.3 billion project by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution to build batteries for electric cars in Ellabell, Georgia, U.S., September 4, 2025 in a still image taken from a video. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS /File Photo
A South Korean worker who was detained in a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, hugs a family member in the long term parking lot at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon
Activists holding signs that reads "No one is illegal!", chant slogans during a press conference to protest against a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
South Korean holds up image of President Donald Trump as workers detained in Georgia immigration raid land at Seoul airport

Overview

  • A chartered Korean Air flight carried 316 South Koreans and 14 other foreign employees out of Atlanta after their release from the Folkston detention center, with one Korean choosing to remain in the United States.
  • ICE said 475 people were arrested in what it called the largest single-site enforcement operation in its history, alleging many had worked on B-1 visas or visa waivers that prohibit employment.
  • Images of detainees in shackles fueled public anger in South Korea, as President Lee Jae Myung warned the episode could deter future investment in the United States.
  • Hyundai confirmed a two- to three-month delay to the Georgia battery campus startup, while LG Energy Solution apologized to affected workers and families.
  • Seoul and Washington said they will set up a bilateral working group to examine new visa channels, with voluntary departures intended to avoid reentry penalties, and other non-Korean detainees remain in U.S. custody.