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Preparations underway to enable Koreans detained in U.S. crackdown to return home

Published: 09 Sep. 2025, 13:10

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun departs Incheon International Airport for Washington on Sept. 8 to hold talks with U.S. immigration authorities regarding the detention of Korean workers at a plant in Savannah, Georgia. [NEWS1]

The Korean government has begun preparatory procedures to bring its citizens detained in a recent U.S. immigration crackdown back home via a chartered plane, a Seoul diplomat said Monday, as most of them expressed their intention to return to Korea.

Cho Ki-joong, consul general at the Korean Embassy in Washington, and other consular staff met the Korean nationals at a detention center in Folkston, Georgia, to formally confirm whether they would voluntarily leave the United States or seek court judgment on the legality of their status in the United States.

Some 300 Koreans have been detained following Thursday's raid at an electric vehicle battery plant construction site for a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Bryan County near Savannah.

"We have met all of them and proceeded with preparations needed for boarding [the chartered plane]," Cho told reporters.

He added: "All liked to come back to Korea. They wish to."

But he refused to comment when asked whether there are people who want to stay in the United States.

Cho said that technical issues for their departure from the United States are being well taken care of thanks to cooperation from the U.S. side.

Among those issues is U.S. immigration authorities' issuance of an alien registration number for each Korean detainee — one procedure needed to be completed before they board a plane.

Asked when the Koreans will board a chartered plane, Cho said an announcement will be made in Seoul.

Staff from Korea's Foreign Ministry plan to continue preparatory work Tuesday.

Korea has been seeking to bring the Korean workers back home, with them voluntarily leaving the United States rather than facing deportation.

U.S. immigration authorities were known to have initially offered two options — immediate deportation and restrictions on their entry into the United States for five years or a monthslong trial under detention.

The immigration raid at the site resulted in the arrest of 475 people, including the Korean workers. Male Korean workers have been detained at the Folkston Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center, while female colleagues have been held at the Stewart Detention Center.

ICE said those arrested were found to be working illegally in the United States, including those on short-term or recreational visas that prohibit them from working.

Yonhap