The arrest of hundreds of South Korean nationals in a sweeping immigration raid in Georgia has caused a diplomatic incident between the United States and one of its key allies in Asia.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung held an emergency meeting following the arrest of 300 of the country’s citizens at a Hyundai plant near Savannah, in what is being described as the largest single-site enforcement operation ever carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The country’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he was “deeply concerned” about the operation and felt “heavy responsibility” for the arrests. He added that President Lee had ordered “all-out efforts” to support South Koreans arrested during the immigration raid, and that he had “emphasized that in the course of U.S. law enforcement, the rights of our people and the economic activities of South Korean investors in the U.S. must not be unjustly infringed upon.”
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“We will discuss sending a senior Foreign Ministry official to the site without delay, and, if necessary, I will personally travel to Washington to hold consultations with the U.S. administration,” Cho told reporters on Saturday.
South Korea has been a staunch economic and strategic ally of the United States in recent years, bolstered recently by its trade deal with President Donald Trump in which it pledged to invest $350 billion in the U.S., including major commitments in sectors like shipbuilding, electric vehicle batteries, and technology. Lee and Trump’s meeting at the White House less than two weeks ago ended with what Trump described as a “full and complete trade deal” between the two countries.
Yet, Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, particularly as it targeted South Korea’s largest auto manufacturer, may undo some of that diplomacy.
Jang Dong-hyeok, chair of the main opposition People Power Party in Korea, urged President Lee on Saturday to take swift action, citing broader repercussions to other Korean businesses.
“At a time when numerous Korean firms are expanding investment and building factories across the U.S., such mass detentions of workers could pose a serious risk at the national level,” he said, according to Korean media. The South Korean government launched an emergency response team on Friday, with consulate officials dispatched to the site of the raid.
The raid also alarmed South Korean company LG Energy Solution (LGES), a battery manufacturer that co-owns the plant, and which announced on Saturday that it was going to suspend employee business travel to the US after 47 of its employees were detained. It also advised any employees in the U.S. to return to South Korea.
When asked if he was worried the raid would harm relations with South Korea, Trump defended ICE.
“I would say that they were illegal aliens, and ICE was just doing its job,” he told reporters..
Steven N. Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said in a statement on Saturday that those arrested were either in the country illegally or working unlawfully.
“We welcome all companies who want to invest in the U.S., and if they need to bring workers in for building or other projects, that’s fine — but they need to do it the legal way,” he said.
Schrank also told reporters at the site on Friday that some U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents had been detained in the raid and were later released. A total of 475 people were arrested at the site.
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