Seoul, September 16: South Korea said on Monday it is investigating potential human rights violations in the United States after hundreds of its nationals were detained in a raid at a Hyundai electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia earlier this month.
The government expressed “strong regret” to Washington and has asked that the rights and interests of South Korean citizens not be infringed during U.S. law enforcement operations, a presidential spokesperson told reporters.
More than 300 South Korean workers returned home on Friday after being held for a week following the Sept. 4 raid, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested about 475 people, mostly South Koreans. ICE officials said those detained had overstayed their visas or were not permitted to work in the country.
The operation, the largest single-location immigration raid since President Donald Trump launched a crackdown on illegal migrants earlier this year, has strained ties between the allies, even as South Korean companies prepare billions of dollars of investments in U.S. manufacturing.
President Lee Jae-myung warned the incident could discourage foreign investment in the United States, while South Korea’s trade unions called on Trump to issue a formal apology.
Hyundai said the raid would delay the plant’s opening by at least two months. One worker told the BBC the raid caused panic and confusion, with some people led away in chains. Trump has said foreign workers are “welcome” in the United States and insisted he does not want to “frighten off” investors.
