South Korea’s top diplomat said he will travel to Washington if needed over a US migrant raid at a Hyundai Motor Co. manufacturing complex, confirming that more than 300 among 475 people detained under the operation are its citizens.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun presided over an emergency response meeting in Seoul on Saturday after US federal agents carried out the sweep at a construction site for an electric-vehicle battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, this week.
“The president has emphasized that the economic activities of our companies investing in the US must not be unduly infringed upon in the course of US law enforcement,” Cho said at the start of the meeting. “We will review promptly dispatching a senior official to the site, including myself traveling to Washington to engage in consultations with the US administration, if needed.”
South Korea has expressed concerns and regret to the US via its embassy in Seoul, Cho said.
The raid was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Homeland Security Department’s investigative arm. It’s part of a broader push by the Trump administration, which has promised the largest deportation campaign in US history.
South Korea has been emerging as a major investor in the US, a trend fueled by the nations’ recent trade deal. That agreement includes a $350 billion fund to help Korean companies enter the US market, with $150 billion dedicated to the shipbuilding industry. Private companies are also set to directly invest another $150 billion in the US, a pledge announced as President Lee Jae Myung held his first summit with President Donald Trump last month.
The federal action occurred at HL-GA Battery Co., a joint venture between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution Ltd. that’s intended to supply Hyundai’s new electric-vehicle production hub — a cornerstone of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s economic development strategy.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.