Around 300 South Korean workers returned home on Friday, one week after being detained in a large-scale U.S. immigration raid at a battery project site in Georgia.
Workers wearing face masks began disembarking a chartered plane at Incheon airport and were greeted with cheers from officials including the presidential chief of staff.
Their return capped a week of intense negotiations by Seoul to win their release and bring them home after they were taken into custody in handcuffs and shackles - shocking many in South Korea, a key U.S. ally.
South Korean businesses have long struggled with obtaining proper visas for specialist workers needed at project sites for months at a time, which has led to some workers relying on grey areas in U.S. visa enforcement.
The two countries are looking at establishing a working group to consider a new type of visa for Koreans, according to South Korea's foreign minister who visited Washington this week.
The workers, also including 10 from China, three from Japan and an Indonesian national, were met by family members and officials at LG Energy Solution, and its subcontractors.
The battery company is partnering with Hyundai Motor to build the plant in Georgia.
The raid horrified South Koreans and has threatened to destabilise ties at a time when the countries are seeking to finalise a trade deal, which includes a $350 billion investment fund to support strategic U.S. industries.
In one sign of resentment, at the arrival gate, someone unfurled a poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump wearing an outfit with the initials of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement service and carrying a bag full of dollar bills with a machine gun slung across his chest. The caption read: "We're friends!".
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who flew to Washington this week to seek a quick resolution, has called on U.S. officials to come up with a new visa for workers at Korean businesses investing in the United States.
President Lee Jae Myung warned on Thursday that the incident could make South Korean companies hesitant about investing in the U.S at a time when Trump has been seeking to encourage foreign investment in manufacturing.
Previously Trump had offered to allow them to stay in the United States, but only one has opted to remain, South Korean officials said on Thursday.
Two people have been shot dead by police in Morocco as nationwide protests over poor public services intensify, marking the first fatalities since the...
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European leaders in Copenhagen on Thursday, discussing the peace...
Israel’s interception of several vessels of the Global Sumud flotilla carrying aid to Gaza has sparked global reactions and even protests in some co...
On 2nd October 2025, the Republic of Guinea marks the 67th anniversary of its historic independence from France, a momentous decision that reverberate...
The Israeli embassy in London has condemned the attack on a Synagogue in Manchester that left three people dead including the attacker and four others...
Two people have been shot dead by police in Morocco as nationwide protests over poor public services intensify, marking the first fatalities since the unrest began last weekend.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European leaders in Copenhagen on Thursday, discussing the peace process, energy cooperation and transport links.
Israel’s interception of several vessels of the Global Sumud flotilla carrying aid to Gaza has sparked global reactions and even protests in some countries as people condemn the act.
On 2nd October 2025, the Republic of Guinea marks the 67th anniversary of its historic independence from France, a momentous decision that reverberated across Africa and challenged the entire colonial order.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Two people have been shot dead by police in Morocco as nationwide protests over poor public services intensify, marking the first fatalities since the unrest began last weekend.
Israel’s interception of several vessels of the Global Sumud flotilla carrying aid to Gaza has sparked global reactions and even protests in some countries as people condemn the act.
On 2nd October 2025, the Republic of Guinea marks the 67th anniversary of its historic independence from France, a momentous decision that reverberated across Africa and challenged the entire colonial order.
The Israeli embassy in London has condemned the attack on a Synagogue in Manchester that left three people dead including the attacker and four others injured on Thursday.
The Baku Initiative Group has been recognised in a UN report as the only NGO among global civil society actors advocating for decolonisation and island sovereignty.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment