South Korea will send a chartered plane to Atlanta as early as Wednesday to bring back workers detained during a huge immigration raid last week on a car battery plant in the U.S. state of Georgia, a Korean Air spokesperson said on Tuesday.
A Korean Air Boeing 747-8i plane with 368 seats will fly from South Korea's Incheon to Atlanta, according to the spokesperson.
During the U.S. immigration raid, about 300 South Koreans were among 475 people arrested at the site of a $4.3 billion project by Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and LG Energy Solution 373220.KS to build batteries for electric cars.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is travelling to Washington to negotiate on issues such as seeking assurances that the detained Koreans will be allowed re-entry to the United States.
Addressing reporters before leaving for the U.S. on Monday, Cho called the detention of the South Koreans "a grave situation" and said he would work with Washington on measures to prevent similar incidents.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said many of the people detained in the Georgia operation would be deported.
"People that are in this country illegally need to know right now, today, that they have an opportunity to go home before they are detained," Noem told reporters on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting in London.
Details on how the workers may have breached immigration rules have not been released by authorities or the companies, but South Korean lawmakers said on Monday some may have overstepped the boundaries of a 90-day visa waiver programme or a B-1 temporary business visa.
Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said he had heard that some experts had travelled from South Korea to help with a test run of the factory, which was due to begin production in October.
"You need to get a visa to do a test run, but it's very difficult to get an official visa. Time was running out, and I think experts went to the United States," he said.
South Korean officials had kicked off the process of bringing the detained workers back home, a senior diplomatic official told reporters in Georgia after meeting with the workers in custody.
The raid was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security's investigative operations, and sent shockwaves through South Korea, a U.S. ally that has been trying to finalise a trade deal agreed with Washington in July.
Hyundai Motor is one of the biggest foreign investors in the United States and is among South Korean companies participating in a pledge of $150 billion in foreign direct investment in the U.S., which comes on top of a $350 billion fund that the South Korean government has separately pledged.
A spokesperson for the automaker said some staff had been asked to suspend non-essential trips to the United States.
The battery maker said last week it is cooperating with U.S. authorities and had paused construction work on the factory.
A Hyundai Motor spokesperson said last week none of the people detained were employed directly by the automaker and that production of EVs at the sprawling site was not affected.
The companies declined further comment on Monday.
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and e...
Afghan and Russian businesses signed 15 trade agreements worth $103 million in Kabul on Thursday during a visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Al...
Rising demand for air cargo and expanding international aviation networks are opening up new trade opportunities for Central Asia and the South Cau...
UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a stark warning at this year's COP31 summit, saying the climate crisis iss advancing faster than governments' efforts to contain it.
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, espionage allegations involving Nvidia's CEO, and climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye.
Four million workers across Spain joined a general strike on Wednesday over the country’s deepening housing crisis, unions said, bringing disruption to factories, ports, shops and public transport just weeks before a snap general election.
Iran has unveiled a new underground missile and drone base, warning that it will respond forcefully to any attack, as tensions persist with the U.S. and oil tankers continue to be struck by naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is stepping down amid reports linking him to a woman suspected by U.S. authorities of spying for China, throwing the future of the $4 trillion chipmaker into uncertainty.
Tajikistan is urging regional allies to step up support for its border with Afghanistan following a series of deadly armed incidents. Despite building more than 80 new border outposts, Dushanbe says it needs further assistance to secure its southern frontier.
Eight people have been killed and at least 17 injured after an apartment building collapsed into a neighbouring construction site in Brooklyn, New York, as rescuers continued searching the rubble for possible survivors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for facilitating talks between Russia and Ukraine, but warned that any foreign troops deployed in Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets by Moscow.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment