Sept. 7 (UPI) — A senior South Korean official said Sunday that the country will charter a plane for the return of hundreds of workers who were detained during an immigration raid at a Hyundai battery factory in Georgia.
Kang Hoon-sik, the South Korean presidential chief-of-staff, said that negotiations with the administration of President Donald Trump had concluded during a speech at a high-ranking ruling party-government meeting, the state-funded Yonhap News Agency reported.
More than 300 workers from South Korea were arrested during the Thursday raid at the factory, which Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution operate. More than 150 other workers were also detained.
The Thursday raid was announced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and included officers from other agencies, such as Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It marked one of the largest immigrant raids in modern American history and it was not immediately clear why the ATF participated in the crackdown.
“There are still administrative procedures left,” Kang said. “Once the procedures are complete, the chartered plane will depart to bring our citizens.”
Kang’s comments came after South Korean officials convened an emergency meeting Saturday to discuss the issue. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said during that meeting that officials were “deeply concerned” about the arrest of the workers.
In additional remarks reported Sunday by the South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun, Kang added that President Lee Jae-myung stressed that the rights and interests of South Korean citizens and the economic activities of companies investing in the U.S. “should not be unfairly violated” during U.S. law enforcement processes.
“The government will not let down its guard and will do its best until the citizens return safely,” Kang said.
Kang also said that South Korea would pursue measures to improve its visa system and residence permits for business travelers related to U.S. projects in the future.
Hyundai said in a statement Friday that none of the workers detained were directly employed by the carmaker and that it “is committed to full compliance with all laws and regulations in every market where we operate.”