'I kept thinking of my child’s face': Korean workers reunite with families after US detention

Korean workers freed from U.S. immigration detention return through Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport, Friday. Hankook Ilbo

Korean workers detained at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution construction site in Georgia have returned home after eight days in U.S. immigration custody, reuniting with their families in emotional scenes at Incheon International Airport.

A Korean Air charter flight carrying 330 people — 316 Koreans and 14 foreign nationals (10 Chinese, three Japanese and one Indonesian) — landed at 3:24 p.m. Friday. The workers had been arrested Sept. 4 (local time) at the site of the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, and detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Folkston.

Among those arriving at Terminal 2 was Kim Il-kook, 53, an employee of a subcontractor. “I just spoke with my family,” he said. “I’m just grateful to have been released in good health.”

Ryu Ju-young, 68, another subcontractor, said, “It was frightening because it was a detention facility. But more than myself, my family must have suffered more from the worry.” He added, “I heard government officials came every day even though visits weren’t allowed. I’m thankful for that.”

The workers described their detention as traumatic.

“When we were transferred, they shackled not only our hands but also our feet. Inside, we were held with people who had crossed the border illegally," a subcontractor employee in his 40s said. Others recalled, “I kept thinking of my child’s face,” “It was hard because I couldn’t wash properly” and “Several of us had to endure together in a cramped space day by day.”

Some complained about food and conditions. “We couldn’t eat properly. The food was like garbage,” one said. According to the workers, ICE officers removed their handcuffs after arrival at the facility but required them to wear prison uniforms for seven days. Each cell had a toilet, but with two people per room, discomfort was significant. Some workers added that the ICE agents’ initially harsh behavior softened over time.

A South Korean worker freed from U.S. immigration detention greets family members at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport, Friday. Hankook Ilbo

Many returned without their belongings. Some had only small bags, while others had not yet received their passports or phones. They boarded nine buses provided by the companies, which transported them to the long-term parking lot where their families awaited. As workers emerged from the elevator, relatives cheered, rushed to embrace them and broke into tears. One worker comforted his crying family member by saying, “It’s all right, it’s all right.”

Kim, 61, who traveled from Cheonan to meet his nephew in his 40s, an employee at LG Energy Solution, said, “My sister fainted and had to be taken to the emergency room when she heard he had been detained. Later, when he got his phone back, he texted her saying, ‘Don’t worry, I’m fine.’ He’s a devoted son, but I’m sure it was really hard on him.”

Another Kim, 55, came from Incheon’s Seo District with her daughter-in-law and four-year-old granddaughter to meet her son in his 30s, a subcontractor worker. “I haven’t been able to reach him since he hasn’t received his phone back yet. I wasn’t too worried since he hadn’t committed any crime, but if he says he has to go back to work in the U.S., I’ll tell him to quit and find another job,” she said.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.