Georgia raid exposes Korea’s diplomatic neglect
A still frame from a video made available by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service shows an immigration raid at the Hyundai-LG vehicle assembly plant in Ellabell, Georgia, Sept. 4. EPA-Yonhap
Like many other Koreans, I was shocked as I watched footage of hundreds of Korean nationals being arrested during a raid by U.S. immigration officials at the Hyundai Motor–LG car battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, last week.
The images were jarring: people taken away like dangerous criminals, wrists, waists and ankles shackled, loaded onto buses bound for a detention center near Savannah. Watching it was a deeply unsettling experience.
I know I am not alone. Many Koreans must have felt the same distress seeing the videos and photos released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The arrested workers reportedly had either overstayed their visas or worked on tourist visas, better known as ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). Some had valid work visas that had already expired. U.S. President Donald Trump called them “illegal aliens” and said immigration officials were simply doing their job.
I do not blame U.S. immigration authorities for enforcing the law. Nor do I harbor resentment toward Trump for his blunt characterization. Overstaying a visa or working illegally is, after all, against the law. Like the U.S., Korea carries out crackdowns on illegal immigrants.
What disturbed me most was not the crackdown itself but the way those Koreans were arrested and transported, shackled as if they were violent offenders.
The images brought back memories of a brief encounter I had at Abu Dhabi International Airport a decade ago. I was en route to Kuwait on a business trip to report on the country’s efforts to attract foreign direct investment. While waiting for the flight, I met a Korean man who was returning to his job at a Korean company near Kuwait City after a short visit home to Seoul.
We struck up a conversation. It quickly turned to the storied role of Korean workers in the Middle East during the 1970s — a time when their hard work and remittances fueled Korea’s rapid economic growth.
Our chat was brief but informative. He explained that Korean workers abroad often saved more than those in Korea, not because of higher pay but because they worked longer hours with few distractions. “In Kuwait, there isn’t much to do on weekends,” he said. “So, I usually work straight through. Even on weekdays, I do overtime — and we get paid for it. Meals are free at the company cafeteria. Breakfast, lunch and dinner — all free. I barely spend a penny.”
His remarks highlighted how long hours and frugality enabled Korean workers abroad to send home much-needed savings.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the Middle East was seen as a land of opportunity for Korean workers, especially in construction. Korean companies earned a reputation for completing projects ahead of schedule, thanks to the dedication of workers willing to put in endless hours. That work ethic helped establish Korea as a trusted partner in the region.
Kuwait and the U.S. state of Georgia could not be more different. In the 1970s, Korean workers in the Middle East were mostly construction laborers, while those at the Hyundai-LG plant are skilled workers employed in a high-tech industry.
Yet, despite these differences, I believe the daily lives of Korean workers in Georgia are not so different from those of their predecessors in the Middle East decades ago. English is not their first language, making it hard for them to explore local communities on weekends. The cost of living in the U.S. is notoriously high. Most of those arrested were subcontractor employees, meaning their working conditions likely fell short of those enjoyed by workers sent directly by the two major conglomerates.
Ellabell itself is a rural area with wide open spaces and few urban conveniences. Given these circumstances, many of the Korean workers there — like those in Kuwait decades ago — likely led simple, frugal lives centered on work.
What troubles me most, however, is how little the Korean government has done to address the visa issue at the heart of the raid.
The workers resorted to using ESTA tourist visas because they are easier to obtain, unlike U.S. work visas, which are subject to lengthy processing and strict scrutiny. Companies building the plant faced pressure to send workers quickly to meet construction deadlines. Subcontractors, facing time constraints and high stakes, chose the risky route of hiring workers on tourist visas rather than waiting for work visa approvals.
For more than a decade, Korean businesses have urged the government to negotiate with Washington for streamlined short-term work visas for skilled specialists. But the Korean government has failed to deliver.
The mass arrests at the Hyundai Motor plant in Georgia are the direct result of this failure. Korean workers are now paying the price for years of diplomatic inaction.