South Korean workers return home after weeklong detention in Georgia

South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia leave Incheon International Airport on Sept. 12, 2025. YonhapSEOUL, September 12 (AJP) - More than 300 South Koreans who were detained in an immigration crackdown in Georgia, the U.S. returned home on Friday after being held for about a week.

A total of 316 South Koreans, along with about a dozen foreign workers, traveled by bus to Atlanta to board a chartered flight after being released from a detention facility the previous day and arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 3:30 p.m.

Looking weary and exhausted after a 15-hour flight, they were reunited with their family members who had been anxiously awaiting their return. Some of them are being driven home in cars provided by LG Energy Solution, which arranged the chartered flight to bring the workers back to Seoul. Medical checkups will be arranged for them upon request.

They were caught last Thursday in the largest single-site workplace in the history of the Department of Homeland Security, leading to the detention of nearly 500 people, most of them South Korean nationals working at a joint electric vehicle battery plant under construction in Folkston, Georgia, by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution.

The U.S. immigration authority alleged that the workers were either in the country illegally, had overstayed their visas, or were employed on visas without proper work permits.

The incident occurred shortly after President Lee Jae Myung pledged massive investment plans to the country's closet ally during his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington late last month, causing diplomatic tension between the two countries.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who rushed to Washington immediately after the incident, met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other immigration-related officials to express concern over the raid and regret over the release of video footage showing the detained workers in shackles. He also requested that the U.S. ensure they would not face any disadvantages with future reentry into the U.S.

The departure of the workers was initially delayed due to a last-minute offer from Trump for the high-skilled workers to remain in the U.S. to train local staff, but they decided to return with one choosing to stay there.

In the wake of the incident, officials from both countries are discussing the issuance of a new type of visa for skilled South Korean workers to prevent similar occurrences.
Im Yoon-seo 기자 lyseo0330@ajupress.com