Home > National > Diplomacy

Operations at Georgia plant restart as detained Koreans hope to return home

Published: 09 Sep. 2025, 17:30 Updated: 09 Sep. 2025, 17:44

Trucks enter and exit the LG Energy Solution-Hyundai Motor joint battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, on Sept. 8, the first workday since a wave of arrests as part of an immigration crackdown on Sept. 4. Cars belonging to employees are seen in the parking lot. [KANG TAE-HWA]

SAVANNAH, Georgia — On Monday morning, large trucks moved in and out of the LG Energy Solution-Hyundai Motor plant construction site, the first workday since immigration authorities carried out mass arrests just days before.

Mike Kim, a subcontractor employee speaking under a pseudonym, said most local workers were not affected by the crackdown that occurred last Thursday.

Kim said that most of the subcontractor employees hired locally had permanent residency or citizenship and were not arrested. He added that many of the Korean employees were either arrested or had returned home, but that the company was continuing the work it could.

A plant manager quickly intervened in the conversation, threatening to call the police if reporters did not leave private property.

Workers from the LG Energy Solution-Hyundai Motor battery plant construction site in Georgia stand in line in blue uniforms at the Folkston detention center on Sept. 8, with documents in hand. [KANG TAE-HWA]

'Wish for voluntary departure'

At the Folkston Detention Center, about 300 Korean workers stood in blue uniforms holding papers while waiting for questioning. They were believed to be receiving alien registration numbers needed for voluntary departure.

Cho Ki-joong, consul general at the Korean Embassy in Washington, said he met all the detained workers and prepared them for a charter flight home.

“Everyone hopes to return to Korea,” he said. Asked if some wished to remain in the United States, he replied, “That is not something I can confirm right now.”

Cho Ki-joong, Korea’s consul general in Washington, speaks to reporters on Sept. 8 while heading to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Folkston, Georgia, where workers from the LG Energy Solution-Hyundai Motor battery plant construction site are being held following an immigration raid. [YONHAP]

The Korean government is pushing for voluntary departure to avoid forced deportation, which carries heavier penalties, including reentry bans. Cho stressed that those who leave voluntarily will not face the five-year entry ban.

A government official noted, however, that workers who want to challenge the charges in court could delay collective repatriation.

“Even if they voluntarily depart, they must acknowledge their undocumented status, so if some workers try to claim innocence through lawsuits, there is no way to ensure they all return together," the official said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, center, tours "Camp 57," a facility to house immigration detainees at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, third left, and ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan, left, on Sept. 3 in this pool photo. [AP/YONHAP]

'Rules of the game'

Despite Seoul’s push for voluntary departure, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the detained Koreans will be "deported."

"Many of those individuals that were detained through that operation in Georgia [...] we are following the law, they are going to be deported," Noem told reporters in London at a gathering of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance.

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visit a temporary migrant detention center informally known as ″Alligator Alcatraz″ in Ochopee, Florida, on July 1. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

"A few of those had criminal activity beyond just being here past final removal orders, and they will face the consequences for that," she said.

"This is a great opportunity for us to make sure that all companies are reassured that when you come to the United States, you'll know what the rules of the game are," Noem added.

It remains unclear whether her use of the word “deportation” referred strictly to forced deportation. Local immigration lawyers warned that deportees could face not just a five-year ban but possibly permanent entry denial.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, second from left, departs from Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Sept. 8 to discuss the release of Koreans detained at an immigration facility in Georgia. [KIM KYUNG-ROK]

Seoul dispatches top diplomat

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun arrived in Washington on Monday and is expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials on Tuesday to finalize arrangements for the workers’ return. Talks will also focus on ensuring the workers do not face reentry bans.

Cho is also expected to raise the issue of a new professional visa category for Korean workers. U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post Sunday that foreign companies investing in the United States must "respect our nation's immigration laws," but he would ensure companies could legally bring in skilled workers.

If the voluntary departure procedures are completed as planned, the detained workers could depart from Atlanta on a chartered flight late Wednesday. LG Energy Solution will cover the estimated 1 billion won ($720,400) round-trip charter cost.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the religious liberty commission at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 8. [EPA/YONHAP]

Policy clash raises concerns

U.S. political news outlet The Hill said the arrests exposed a clash between two of the Trump administration’s priorities: cracking down on undocumented immigrants and attracting foreign investment.

“There probably wasn’t any coordination in terms of how to address the part where we want to revive American manufacturing, and get foreign investors to invest billions in the U.S., but then also provide a process that also allows workers to come in to set up the factory,” Andrew Yeo, the Korea chair with the Brookings Institution, told the outlet.

Korea had pledged $350 billion in investment in the United States under a tariff deal, but business leaders and government officials are now voicing concerns about the crackdown, The Hill reported.

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 KANG TAE-HWA [[email protected]]