Seoul, Korea
–
The detention of hundreds of Koreans following the immigrant attack at a Georgia factory last week was an “unfair violation” of the rights of Koreans and businesses operating in the United States, the president of Asian countries said Tuesday.
300 South Korean citizens were detained last Thursday in an Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) attack at a Hyundai LG facility under construction in southern Georgia last Thursday.
“They must have been deeply shocked by this sudden event,” South Korean President Jae Mi Myung added that he felt a “deeply responsible” for the safety of South Korean citizens.
To that end, the government announced hours ago that the detained Koreans would return to Incheon International Airport, near the capital Seoul, later this week after negotiations with the US.
On Tuesday, South Korea confirmed that one of its airline Boeing 747s would leave South Korea as early as Wednesday and head to Atlanta to help deport Koreans detained.
The plane carrying passengers and departing can accommodate 368 people, a spokesperson for South Korea Airlines said.
Last Thursday was one of the biggest attacks by US immigration enforcement agencies in recent years. Many Koreans have been tied up and led to detention, and the image that many Koreans have been circulated widely throughout South Korea, sparking criticism when the country is pouring billions of dollars into the US.
Last month, South Korean business heavyweights, including Korean Airlines and Hyundai, announced billion-dollar deals in the US following a summit between leaders from both countries.
The Georgia factory is supposed to operate next year, but it is a massive investment for the state, and is projected to employ up to 8,500 people upon completion.
However, the migrant raids undermined these plans.
“We hope that such unfair violations of the activities of our people and businesses that contribute to the mutual growth of South Korea and the United States will never happen again,” South Korean President Lee said Tuesday.
On Monday, he sent Foreign Minister Jung Hyun to Washington, DC to discuss this.
The role of the Foreign Minister in the repatriation process was unclear, but the Lee government was trying to quickly contain simmering complaints within the country about how people are being treated by US law enforcement.
The opposition People’s Rights Party spokesman – the Conservative Party, which usually speaks positively about the United States – was called an “unprecedented diplomatic disaster.”
“This is the United States, which expresses diplomatic dissatisfaction with South Korea in the most powerful way possible,” said spokesman Eon-Seog, adding that Lee “has a clear explanation of where this diplomatic collapse began.”
South Korea’s progressive leader Kim Jae-young called the attack a “breach of trust.”
“President Trump should apologise for what happened and promise to take steps to prevent a recurrence,” Kim said.
Thursday’s attacks are the top stories of various Korean newspapers and websites on Monday morning, questioning the treatment of South Korean citizens in Washington and whether business and diplomatic relations could suffer lasting damage.
However, the blow from the attack appears to be deeper than business deals. Some are seen as humiliation for the friendship of the two families that have been built over 70 years since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
“It was really painful to see our own people being mercilessly detained and put in detention centers in the country we consider friends,” a visiting professor at a Korean university asked not to name them.
“This could have been my family, me, or even my friends, and I felt a strong sense of injustice,” the professor said.
The images caused shock among stubborn American supporters.
It’s not uncommon to see conservative South Korean protesters waving US flags at demonstrations of various causes.
Sok Ha, 67, who has been protesting every day near the US embassy in Seoul for five years, has been worried about long-term damage to relations in pursuit of a stronger US-Korea alliance.
“I understand whether the US is deporting illegal immigrants, but this time it seemed too extreme. I’m worried that this might have a rift in the US-Korea alliance,” he said.
It is unclear what kind of visa the Korean citizens who worked at the factory had. According to Stephen Schrank, a special agent in the Homeland Security Investigation, 475 people were detained and 475 people illegally entered the United States, while others were overstaying visas.
Others were here under the US Visa Waiver Program, which allowed workers to travel for tourism and business for up to 90 days, and were banned from working thereafter.
Georgia immigration attorney Charles Cuck told CNN that two clients were detained in the attack after arriving from South Korea under visa exemption. One client arrived in the US in August, and the other arrived a few weeks ago, he said.
None of the Koreans worked at Hyundai, but about 50 of them worked at LG Energy Solutions. Another 250 primarily Korean national employees work at HL-GA Battery Company LLC, operating under Hyundai and LG.
In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for LG Energy Solution, the company said it is collaborating in the process.
When asked Monday about the visa status of detained workers, the company told CNN “The visa status of the detained individuals is still under investigation, so it is not yet known.”
CNN has requested comment from the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Hyundai.
CNN’s Amanda Musa contributed to this report.
