Seoul on Sunday said hundreds of South Korean workers detained by US immigration authorities will be flown back to Korea, after days of tense negotiations with Washington.
The workers were arrested on Thursday in a sweeping operation at a Georgia battery plant, sparking “visceral” condemnation from Korean media, one Seoul-based journalist wrote.
The raid highlighted a “fundamental contradiction: the US demanding massive foreign investment while making it practically impossible to bring necessary skilled workers through proper visa channels,” they wrote.
Analysts noted another point of tension: US President Donald Trump desires to revive American manufacturing while also escalating his immigration crackdown, with the White House vowing to execute more workplace raids.