SEOUL — More than 300 South Korean workers detained in a sweeping immigration raid at a Hyundai factory site in Georgia last week are heading back to Seoul, their departure stirring diplomatic ripples and raising questions about the future of Korean investment in the United States.
A chartered Korean Air flight carrying the workers — along with 14 non-Koreans also swept up in the raid — left Atlanta on Thursday afternoon. It is scheduled to land at Incheon International Airport on Friday. One South Korean reportedly chose to remain in the United States to seek permanent residency.
The departure was delayed more than a day, President Lee Jae Myung said, after the White House requested a pause to ask workers if they wished to stay and help train Americans. “The situation is extremely bewildering,” Lee told reporters, warning that Korean companies might now hesitate before committing to U.S. projects.
The raid has unsettled both governments. Seoul has pressed Washington for clarity on visa options, calling for higher quotas or even new visa categories tailored for Korean firms. South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, raised the matter directly with U.S. senators this week, urging support for a special visa program.
Hyundai executives voiced their own frustration. José Muñoz, the company’s global chief operating officer, said the raid would delay the plant’s opening by “two to three months” as workers abandon the project. LG Energy Solution, Hyundai’s partner at the site, stressed that many detained employees had valid visas or were under the visa waiver program.
For those on the ground, the raid was chaotic. A worker told the BBC that most detainees were mechanics contracted to install production lines, caught in the sweep without warning.
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The incident comes at a delicate moment in U.S.–South Korea relations. Seoul has pledged tens of billions of dollars in American investment, partly to ease tariff disputes, while Washington has courted foreign automakers as partners in its clean energy push.
Yet in Seoul, the operation has been portrayed as a shock. The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper warned it could chill Korean businesses, while Yonhap urged both governments to “repair cracks in their alliance.”
The White House has defended the raid, with President Donald Trump insisting that foreign companies must prioritize American workers. “We will make it quickly and legally possible for firms to bring workers,” he said, “if they respect our immigration laws.”
