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316 S. Koreans return home after detention in US immigration raid

Xinhua
| September 12, 2025
2025-09-12

A total of 316 South Korean workers returned home after detention in a U.S. immigration raid last week, a TV footage showed Friday.

A chartered plane carrying the workers and 14 foreigners arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of the capital Seoul, at about 3:23 p.m. local time (0623 GMT).

The plane took off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta about 15 hours earlier.

Their arrival came around a week after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the construction site of an electric vehicle battery plant run by a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution on Sept. 4 U.S. time.

Arrested were 475 individuals, including over 300 South Koreans who had since been held at the Folkston detention center in Georgia.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung expressed his worry about investment in the United States during a press conference marking his 100 days in office on Thursday.

"As it stands, our companies will inevitably be very hesitant about direct U.S. investment," Lee said.

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