Seoul calls for safety for nationals, buyers as Trump’s immigration crackdown sees tons of detained in ICE raid.
Printed On 5 Sep 2025
South Korea has complained after United States immigration officers detained tons of of staff throughout a raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant being constructed within the state of Georgia.
The Ministry of International Affairs in Seoul on Friday demanded the rights of its buyers and residents be revered following the raid yesterday, which pressured building of the manufacturing facility to be suspended.
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The episode highlights the disruptive impact President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is having on his efforts to draw overseas funding. The Hyundai-LG plant is a part of the largest overseas funding within the state of Georgia.
“The enterprise actions of our buyers and the rights of our nationals should not be unjustly infringed within the strategy of US legislation enforcement,” South Korea’s International Ministry spokesperson, Lee Jaewoong, mentioned in an announcement.
Since Trump returned to energy in January, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) company has been bolstered by report funding and new latitude to conduct raids.
The president has mentioned he needs to deport “the worst of the worst” criminals. However ICE figures present an increase within the detainment of non-criminals.
Lee didn’t specify precisely what number of South Koreans have been detained, calling the quantity “massive,” however media stories recommended that 300 or extra had been taken into custody.
The Atlanta workplace of the US Justice Division company ATF mentioned in a put up on X that as much as 450 folks in complete had been detained.
The Korea Financial Every day reported that as many as 560 staff on the Hyundai Motor facility and LG Power Answer (LGES) had been detained.
Of that quantity, some 300 are South Korean nationals, based on the Reuters and AFP information businesses, citing South Korean media and unnamed sources.
A South Korean authorities official instructed Reuters that the detainees have been being held at an ICE detention facility.
Lee mentioned the ministry is taking lively measures to handle the case, dispatching diplomats from its embassy in Washington and consulate in Atlanta to the location, and planning to kind an on-site response workforce centred on the native mission.
In July, Seoul pledged $350bn in US funding to ease tariff threats from Trump, who was elected final 12 months on a promise to guide the most important migrant deportation programme in US historical past.
