A top South Korean official on Friday expressed concerns after the United States detained many Korean nationals during a large-scale immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia the day before.
In a televised address, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Lee Jaewoong said the U.S. must safeguard its citizens’ rights.
“The economic activities of our companies investing in the United States and the interests of our citizens must not be unduly violated during the course of U.S. law enforcement,” he said.
The raid came a week after Hyundai boosted its U.S. investments to $26 billion through 2028. The investments are said to focus on steel manufacturing, robotics innovation, and auto production.
The announcement arrived on the same day that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Seoul “conveyed our concerns and regrets” to its embassy in Washington, D.C., Lee added. Members of the embassy and its Atlanta consulate were dispatched to the Hyundai facility, where they may address the situation.
South Korean media reported that about 300 Korean nationals were detained at the $7.6 billion Hyundai factory, one of Georgia’s largest electric vehicle manufacturing sites. The ministry spokesman did not confirm the figure, although he said it was a large number.
Immigration authorities apprehended around 450 illegal immigrants on Thursday, the Atlanta field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives announced on social media.
The Department of Homeland Security said agents executed a search warrant “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes.” The department declined to say whether anyone was detained or arrested.
Agents told the plant workers to cease construction immediately during the immigration raid, according to a video posted on social media. A spokesperson for the plant said operations continued.
IMMIGRATION OFFICERS RAID HYUNDAI EV MANUFACTURING SITE IN GEORGIA
Tori Branum, a Republican candidate running for a Georgia seat in the House next year, took credit for the raid after she notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Hyundai megaplant’s employment of illegal immigrants based on the word of a local union worker who could access the site.
In pursuit of its mass deportation agenda, the Trump administration has been increasingly conducting immigration raids at construction sites, cannabis farms, restaurants, and other workplaces where illegal immigrants may be employed.
