US immigration raid an ‘unjust infringement' on rights of South Koreans, says Lee

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - SEOUL — The detention of hundreds of South Korean nationals after a immigration raid on a factory in Georgia last week was an “unjust infringement” on the rights of South Korean people and businesses operating in the United States, the Asian nation’s president said Tuesday.

Some 300 South Korean nationals were detained – some taken away in handcuffs and leg chains – last Thursday in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on the Hyundai-LG facility, which is under construction in southern Georgia.

“They must have been greatly shocked by this sudden event,” South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said, adding that he felt “a profound sense of responsibility” for the safety of the Korean citizens.

To that end, hours earlier the government announced that the detained Koreans will return to Incheon International Airport, near the capital Seoul, on a chartered flight later this week following negotiations with the US.

Korean Air on Tuesday confirmed one of the airline’s Boeing 747s will leave South Korea as early as Wednesday and head to Atlanta to assist in the repatriation the detained South Koreans.

The plane, which will leave carrying no passengers, is capable of accommodating 368 people, a spokesperson for Korean Air said.

The raid last Thursday was one of the largest by US immigration enforcement agencies in recent years. Images of workers, many of them Korean, being shackled and led away into detention have circulated widely across South Korea and sparked criticism at a time when the country is pouring multi-billion-dollar investments into the US, much of it at the behest of US President Donald Trump.

Last month South Korea business heavyweights including Korean Air and Hyundai unveiled multibillion-dollar deals in the US following the summit between the two countries’ leaders.

The plant in Georgia, which is supposed to be operating next year, is a massive investment for the state and projected to employ up to 8,500 people when complete.

But the immigration raid has tarnished those plans.

“I hope that such unjust infringements on the activities of our people and businesses, who contribute to the mutual growth of Korea and the US, will not happen again,” Lee, the South Korean president, said Tuesday.

On Monday, he dispatched Foreign Minister Cho Hyun to Washington, DC, for talks.

What the foreign minister’s role in the repatriation process would be was unclear, but the Lee government was trying to quickly contain simmering discontent in the country about how its nationals were being treated by US law enforcement.

The spokesperson for the opposition People Power Party – a conservative party that usually speaks favorably of the US – called the raid “an unprecedented diplomatic disaster.”

“This is the United States expressing its diplomatic dissatisfaction with South Korea in the strongest possible way,” said spokesperson Song Eon-seog, adding that Lee “must clearly explain where this diplomatic breakdown began.”

Kim Jae-yeon, South Korea’s Progressive Party leader, called the raid “a breach of trust.”

“President Trump should apologize for what happened and promise measures to prevent recurrence,” Kim said.

Thursday’s raid was the top story on a range of South Korean newspapers and websites on Monday morning, with stories questioning Washington’s treatment of South Korean nationals and whether business and diplomatic relations could suffer permanent damage.

But the blowback from the raid appears to go deeper than business deals, with some seeing it as an affront to a bilaterial friendship forged over more than seven decades since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

“Seeing our own people being mercilessly detained and put into detention centers in a country we regard as a friend was truly painful,” said a visiting professor of business at a South Korean university who asked not to be named.

“This could have been my family, myself, or even my friends, and I felt a strong sense of unfairness,” the professor said.

The images even caused shock among die-hard supporters of the US.

It is not unusual to see conservative protesters in South Korea waving US flags at demonstrations for various causes.

Song Seok-ha, 67, who has been protesting every day for five years near the US Embassy in Seoul to call for a stronger US-South Korea alliance, was concerned about long-term damage to relations.

“I can understand if the US is deporting illegal immigrants, but this time it seemed too extreme... I’m worried this might put a crack in the US-South Korea alliance,” he said.

It’s unclear what kind of visas the Korean nationals working at the plant had. Some of the 475 detained entered the US illegally, according to Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge, while others had overstayed their visas.

Others were in here under the US Visa Waiver Program which allows workers to travel for tourism or business for up to 90 days, and had subsequently been prohibited from working.

Georgia immigration attorney Charles Kuck told CNN two of his clients were detained at the raid after having arrived from South Korea under a visa waiver. One client arrived in the US in August, and the other arrived several weeks ago, he said.

While none of the Korean nationals worked for Hyundai, about 50 of them worked for LG Energy Solutions. Another 250 mostly Korean national employees worked for HL-GA Battery Company LLC, which operates under Hyundai and LG.

In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for LG Energy Solution said the company was cooperating with the process: “We will commit our best efforts to ensure the safe and prompt return of our employees and those of our partners.”

When asked Monday about the visa status of the detained workers, the company told CNN, “The visa status of the detained individuals is under investigation, so we don’t know yet.” – CNN