ED Raid on Hyundai-LG plant

This handout photo released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sept. 5 allegedly shows a Homeland Security Investigations police officer at a company workplace in Ellabell, Ga., Sept. 4. More than 300 Koreans were among 475 people arrested by U.S. immigration officials in a raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant being built in the southern U.S. state of Georgia, the foreign minister in Seoul said on Sept. 6. Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Atlanta, said earlier that Thursday's operation was the largest single site raid carried out so far under U.S. President Donald Trump's nationwide anti-migrant drive. AFP-Yonhap

Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, Korea has dealt with unexpected volatility on trade issues from the United States. With Trump's second tenure, Korea remained steadfast, dealing with confidence while trade's rough seas got a little rougher. Korea rode out the waves with globetrotting diplomacy and investment.

But the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) raid on Thursday (local time) on a pair of Korean conglomerates' plant in Georgia, where more than 475 people were arrested, including some 300 Korean nationals, is unprecedented in scale and lands with a thudding shock. Hyundai Motor Group manufactures electric vehicles on the site. It partnered with LG Energy Solution to build a battery factory scheduled to open in 2026.

The U.S. immigration authorities worked with various regional offices for the crackdown, conducted after months of investigations, U.S. officials said. The issue at heart, according to U.S. authorities, is that the arrested people overstayed B1 visas or worked without authorization, i.e., while on a visa waiver program. It is bitterly ironic to note that the site was hailed during the former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration as a significant investment from an ally and foreign investor. Last week, U.S. immigration officials "hailed" the raid as the "largest single-site enforcement operation in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's history."

The Korean government has expressed concern and regret. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said that the rights of Korean nationals and economic activities of the Korean firms should not unfairly infringed. President Lee Jae Myung has ordered an all-out, swift resolution. To our relief, progress was being made. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said late Sunday afternoon that negotiations with the United States over the Korean detainees were completed and a charter plane would be sent once the administrative procedures were done. The government also said it would improve the visa system for Korean workers traveling to the U.S. to prevent similar occurrences.

It was more than regrettable to see a Korean plant subject to such a massive enforcement operation. Families back home had to watch their loved ones being shackled and worried for their safety in the detention facilities.

On a smaller scale, there was another raid in 2020, where U.S. authorities nabbed 13 Korean workers at an SK plant in Georgia. Those 13 Korean nationals were also on a visa waiver program at that time. Out of this crisis, Korean businesses with major operations or those building new facilities in the U.S. are scurrying to secure proper visas for their workers. With the government having pledged to improve the visa system also, both government and conglomerates must make sure such incidents do not occur.

Now that the talks over the safe release and return of the Korean nationals are wrapped up, the two nations must affirm that they remain on the same page in furthering economic relations and seeing through the tariff agreement between the two nations. In July, Korea pledged a $350 billion investment in the United States among other things, in exchange for lowering the blanket tariff from 25 percent to 15 percent.

More importantly, the U.S. president must close the jarring gap between his aggressive immigration policy, as seen in ICE's measures, with his industrial policy of demanding more foreign businesses invest and manufacture in the United States. He needs to provide a legitimate sense of security and trust for Korea, an important ally and a major trade partner. South Korea is one of the major investors in the United States, with big firms like Samsung, LG, SK, Hanwha and Hyundai operating factories or labs as well as building new facilities. The U.S. president must also remember that Korea remains a vital ally in Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

Both the Korean government and the Korean conglomerates must work in tandem to thoroughly improve the visa system to offer top protection and safety for Koreans working there. The U.S. is reluctant to issue H-1B work visas, and Korea has been unsucessful in securing E-4 highly skilled work visas for Korean nationals with specialized skills or expertise, to date. The two sides can hopefully make some improvements so that Korea's pledged investments in the U.S. are not delayed.