Hundreds of South Korean workers arrived home to emotional reunions after being detained in a U.S. immigration raid at a Georgia car battery plant run by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution. The raid, which involved multiple federal agencies, left workers shocked as they were handcuffed and shackled, fueling public anger in South Korea. Seoul has demanded changes to the U.S. visa system and is negotiating a new category for Korean specialists, warning that the incident could discourage future investment. U.S. officials, meanwhile, signaled that the workers’ skills are critical to ongoing projects, but trust has been shaken on both sides.
See "South Korean workers return home to cheers a week after US immigration raid", Joyce Lee, Jihoon Lee and Hyunjoo Jin, Reuters, September 12, 2025