More than 300 South Korean workers arrived at Incheon international airport on Friday afternoon, ending a week-long ordeal that began with the US Department of Homeland Security’s largest ever single-site raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and has left South Korea questioning whether it can trust its closest ally.
The 316 Koreans, along with 14 workers of other nationalities, landed shortly after 3pm local time on a chartered Korean Air flight after being detained since 4 September at a Hyundai-LG battery plant construction site in Georgia.
There was widespread anger across the political spectrum in South Korea at the behaviour of the US authorities, with one newspaper referring to the workers being treated like “prisoners of war” and another describing Koreans as feeling stabbed in the back by their closest ally.
The workers had requested privacy, and the assembled media kept their distance as the returnees emerged in small groups to board waiting buses. Most wore face masks and carried only small bags; many looking worn out but bearing the weary relief of people whose ordeal had finally ended.
Addressing reporters, the presidential chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, said he had come to offer words of encouragement. “We did our best, but I’m sorry we couldn’t bring them back to their homeland sooner,” he said.
“We’re in an age of new normal in dealing with the United States,” Kang said. “The standard changes every time and constantly there has to be deal-making, not only on tariffs, but it’ll also be the case with security issues.”
The workers had been building a $4.3bn (£3.2bn) battery plant, which is crucial to Hyundai’s electric vehicle ambitions in the US. Most were employed by LG Energy Solution or its subcontractors.
The detention stemmed from workers using B1 business visas and the 90-day visa waiver programme (Esta) for what US authorities deemed actual employment rather than permitted activities such as meetings or training.
Korean companies have long relied on this “grey zone” because the official H-1B work visas take months to obtain and South Korea lacks the dedicated quota allocations that other US trade partners enjoy. Previous US administrations had largely turned a blind eye to the practice.
The South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, delivered his sharpest warning yet to Washington on Thursday, stating that Korean businesses would “hesitate to make direct investments” if the US failed to resolve visa issues quickly.
“Korean businesses that have entered the United States are likely in a state of serious bewilderment,” he said. “This isn’t long-term permanent employment, but to establish facilities and equipment for factories; we need technicians to install machinery and equipment. The US doesn’t have such personnel, and they won’t give visas for [our workers] to stay and work.”
The workers’ departure from Georgia was delayed by a day after President Donald Trump offered to let them stay and train Americans, but only one person chose to remain.
South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, flew to the US to meet his counterpart, Marco Rubio, securing assurances that workers would not be restrained while being transported.
The concession addressed a particularly sensitive grievance after ICE’s release of video footage showing Korean workers being led away in chains, evoking historical experiences of subjugation by foreign powers.
The episode has generated unprecedented public anger. A survey by the local broadcaster MBC found 68% of respondents believed the US government “did not show consideration for South Korea as an ally” in handling the situation.
Korean media responses were scathing across the political spectrum. Seoul Economic Daily described workers being treated like “prisoners of war”; the conservative Chosun Ilbo called it a “merciless arrest operation” representing a “breach of trust”; while the progressive Hankyoreh asked: “Is this what you do to an ally?” and described Koreans feeling “backstabbed” after Lee’s recent meeting with Trump.
At the airport, a 75-year-old protester, Hong Jung-sik, reflected a nation’s anger when he said the detention of fellow citizens had left him feeling betrayed. “Trump, who do you think you are?” he shouted, describing the episode as a “national humiliation” and “evil behaviour”.
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