Home > National > Diplomacy

Korean nationals detained in U.S. ICE raid to return home on chartered flight

Published: 09 Sep. 2025, 11:42

Immigration and customs agents restrain workers who were apprehended at a battery plant construction site on charges of violating U.S. immigration rules in Savannah, Georgia. More than 300 Korean nationals were reported to be captured during the raid. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

More than 300 Korean nationals detained at a battery plant construction site for the joint venture between LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor Group in Georgia are scheduled to return home on a chartered Korean Air flight.

According to the airline industry on Tuesday, Korean Air will dispatch a Boeing 747-8i aircraft from Incheon International Airport to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Wednesday morning. The aircraft has a seating capacity of 368, enough to transport all of the detained Korean nationals in a single trip.

The plane will operate as a ferry flight — departing Incheon without passengers — and is scheduled to depart Atlanta late Wednesday local time with the returnees on board.

The released individuals will first be transported by bus from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Folkston, southern Georgia, to Atlanta — a journey of approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes — before boarding the flight home.

On Sept. 4, U.S. immigration authorities conducted a raid at the construction site and detained 475 people, including over 300 Korean nationals, for suspected visa violations.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]