A specially chartered Korean Air flight carrying more than 310 South Korean workers detained in a US immigration raid last week landed at Incheon International Airport on Friday, AFP reporters confirmed.
The workers were among 475 people arrested at a Hyundai-LG battery plant construction site in the US state of Georgia—a crackdown that has strained ties between Washington and Seoul, two long-standing allies.
According to South Korea’s foreign ministry, the Boeing 747-8I departed from Atlanta and touched down at Incheon at approximately 3:25 p.m. local time (0625 GMT). “Everything at Atlanta went smoothly,” a ministry official told AFP, confirming the aircraft carried the planned number of passengers.
The large-scale raid, which immigration authorities said was related to visa violations, is reportedly the largest single-site operation carried out since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January. Most of the South Koreans detained were reportedly working on visas not intended for manual labor, experts said.
Scenes of the workers handcuffed and chained during the raid sparked widespread outrage in South Korea, prompting an urgent diplomatic response. Upon their return, demonstrators gathered at the airport, holding signs and placards denouncing the US government’s actions.
One sign, featuring a caricature of President Trump in an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) uniform with a gun, read: “We’re friends, aren’t we?” Another protester carried a placard that said: “You told us to invest, only to arrest us! Is this how you treat an ally?”
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called the raid “bewildering,” warning that it could discourage future investment in the United States. He added that the government is negotiating with Washington to ensure that visa issuance for investment-related activities returns to normal.
The Hyundai-LG project, valued at $4.3 billion, is a joint venture to build a battery cell manufacturing facility in Georgia. Industry insiders say it is common for South Korean companies to bring in skilled labor from home to avoid delays during the construction phase, often relying on visa workarounds.
Hyundai Motor’s Global COO, Jose Muñoz, told reporters the incident is expected to cause a delay of at least two to three months in the project timeline. “This is going to give us minimum two to three months delay, because now all these people want to get back,” he said. “Then you need to see how you can fill those positions—and for the most part, those people are not in the US”
LG Energy Solution, which said 47 of its employees were among those arrested—along with around 250 workers from its contractors—thanked the South Korean government for acting swiftly.
“We are especially grateful for their exceptional efforts… and their meticulous attention to ensuring that workers would not face disadvantages upon re-entry into the United States,” LG said in a statement.
To prevent further harm, Seoul negotiated terms to prevent the workers from being handcuffed during repatriation and has deployed a task force of senior officials to manage ongoing fallout.
The incident has triggered strong condemnation from labor groups in South Korea. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the nation’s largest labor organizations, called for an official apology from President Trump and urged the government to suspend investment in the US pending further clarification.
“The Trump administration’s excessive mass arrests and detentions were a clear violation of human rights,” the KCTU said in a statement sent to AFP. “The KCTU stands in full solidarity with the workers returning today and strongly urges President Trump to issue an official apology.”
The raid came less than a month after Trump welcomed President Lee to the White House, a visit meant to highlight the deepening economic ties between the two countries.
Despite the controversy, LG said it remains committed to its US projects and is working to minimize any business impact stemming from the incident.
AFP
