SEOUL: South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has urged the United States Congress to support a new visa for his country’s businesses, as hundreds of mainly Korean workers arrested during a massive US immigration raid last week were set to return home on Friday (Sep 12).
During his meetings with U.S. senators in Washington, Cho reiterated concerns among South Koreans over the detention of Korean professionals participating in investment projects in the US, his ministry said in a statement.
A plane carrying more than 300 Korean workers who were detained during the raid at a Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution battery joint venture in the state of Georgia has left the US, bound for South Korea.
The plane is expected to touch down in South Korea at around 2pm (1pm, Singapore time), according to LG Energy Solution, whose workers and subcontractors were among the detainees.
After being held for a week by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the South Korean workers have been released and flown from Atlanta.
The raid that sent shockwaves across South Korea has threatened to destabilise ties, at a time when both countries are seeking to finalise a trade deal, and to scare off South Korean investment in the US that US President Donald Trump has been keen to secure.
Following the raid, the battery plant is facing a minimum startup delay of two to three months, Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz said on Thursday.
In the wake of the raid, Washington and Seoul have agreed to discuss establishing a new visa category for South Koreans, Cho has said.
Source: CNA
