Officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcer (ICE) taking protective measures in front of protesters. Credit Line: Tarat Hossain / AFP / Profimedia
On Thursday, September 4, over 300 South Koreans were arrested near Savannah, Georgia, by immigration officers at an electric battery factory owned by the South Korean giant Hyundai, writes the French press. This proves that investments in the American economy are not enough. At Seoul, the press oscillates between shock and misunderstanding.
In response to the arrest of over 300 South Koreans during a raid performed by the Immigration Police on a battery factory owned by South Korean companies Hyundai and LG Energy Solution, Georgia, President Lee Jae Myung ordered on Saturday, September 6th, “to do everything possible” his. For the time being, most of those arrested on Thursday were incarcerated in the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention center in Folkston, Georgia.
This ray is a “shock” for Korean society, as indicated by an editorial in the newspaper “Dong-a Ilbo”. South Korea is making colossal efforts to maintain relations with its American ally and agreed for months to make significant efforts to avoid economic reprisals. The newspaper “Chosun Ilbo to escape federal officials throwing themselves into a treatment basin.
“Immediately after finding out about the incident, the president insisted that the rights and interests of Korean citizens and companies investing in the United States not be unfairly violated in the name of strengthening American immigration legislation,” Cho Hyun said at a special meeting that took place on Saturday afternoon. Cho Hyun has announced that he will go to Washington personally if necessary.
The biggest ray of Immigration and Customs Enforcer to a site
What happened? A battery factory still under construction, which will provide parts for the electric cars assembled in the factory, was targeted in an investigation into illegal work. “The immigration officers entered the yard around 10:45 on Thursday and began to separate workers according to nationality and visa status. The groups were uploaded,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “
According to Steven Schrank, an agent within the investigative division of the US Interior Department, most of those arrested were working illegally, without having appropriate visas. According to LG, the 48 arrested employees-47 South Koreans and an Indonesian-were on a business trip. The others over 350 were employed by Hyundai and LG partner companies. “This is the largest repression action in one place undertaken by the Department for Internal Security,” according to one of its officials.
According to the publication “Korea Times”, LG has asked its employees in the United States to stay home and take into account the return to Korea. The company has suspended business trips, and the human resources director is expected to arrive in the United States soon to shed light on this incident.
Hyundai said that none of his employees were arrested, but the arrests involved subcontractors, which the giant promises he will be held accountable.
Beyond the unprecedented extent of the operation, the context made the news even more shocking, according to “The New York Times”. “The United States has been pressure on Korea for years to invest billions of dollars in US industries,” and Hyundai is one of the main Korean companies that invest massively in the United States. In March, Hyundai announced investments worth $ 21 billion.
Moreover, the Georgia complex seemed very well received by the Trump administration. “The Hyundai-LG plant, which is about to start working within a year, is the kind of large-scale investment, creative jobs [8.500, conform Hyundai]which the United States asks for from South Korea, “confirms the” New York Times “.
