Seoul, South Korea (AP)-South Korea Foreign Minister left the United States on Monday to end the steps to return several hundreds of workers in South Korea detained in a huge migration raid in Georgia, a scene that caused confusion, shock and a sense of betrayal among many in the American nation.
The September 4 raid on a battery factory under construction at the Hyundai Motor Motors Factory resulted in the detention of 475 workers and more than 300 South Koreans. Some of them were shown on restrictions with chains around their hands, ankles and waist in the video released by the United States for Migration and Customs Enforcement.
South Korea announced on Sunday that the United States agreed to release it and that it would bring them home on a rented trip once the final administrative steps are completed.
President Donald Trump said that the workers were “illegally here”, and instead, the United States needs to set arrangements with countries such as South Korea to bring their experts to train American citizens to work such as batteries and computer.
US Internal Security Minister Christie sleeps in London correspondents that Trump sent a “strong” message to investors and their employees.
She said: “His message today was that he sent to the world,” Listen, our laws will be applied, and we encourage all companies that want to come to the United States, help our economy and employ people, and we encourage them to employ the United States citizens and bring people to our country who want to follow our laws and work here in the right way. “
Southern Korean politicians
After appearing in a legislative session before his departure, Foreign Minister Zhou Hyun described the raid as a “very dangerous issue” that he did not expect at all, as many legislators expressed regret the American operation.
“If the American authorities have detained hundreds of Koreans in this way, like a military operation, how can South Korea companies invest in the United States to continue investing properly in the future?” Chu Jeongsik, legislator of the liberal Democratic Party, said.
Another legislator, Kim Ji Hyun of the Conservative Opposition Party, said that the “unacceptable” raid dealt with South Korea “a severe blow that would be difficult to recover.”
Some lawmakers have even called on the government to take revenge by investigating Americans who are allegedly working illegally in South Korea.
Seoul has expressed regret on the raid, but experts say that it will likely not take any major measures in exchange for the country’s security dependence on the United States to deter the potential attacks in North Korea and other areas of cooperation between the two countries, including trade relations.
Many South Koreans surprised
The Trump administration made a series of workplace raids to fulfill the collective deportation schedule, but this was the largest of the Internal Security Agency in one location, and targeting Georgia, a symbol of bilateral cooperation as many large South Korean companies operate and plan future investments.
In particular, this raid came just weeks after the South Korean promise to pour hundreds of billions of dollars in US investments as part of the customs tariff deal, and days after Trump and South Korean President Lee Jay Meong at the first meeting of Washington on August 25.
“The way Trump presses the Korean government and damages its people is very difficult and vital,” said Kim Taio, the former head of the Korea Institute in Korea in Seoul. “Is it possible to forget this easily in South Korea? In a long -term perspective, it will not be good for us national interests as well.”
In an editorial on Monday, Choson Elebo, the largest newspaper in South Korea, wrote that “basic doubts appear: What does the United States mean through” alliance “, and are the benefits of investment guaranteed through departments?”
Pike and Weyel, a professor at the University of Seoul at UNICA, said the American goal of restoring manufacturing through foreign investment is colliding with her lack of visa and immigration systems that can support such an effort.
He said that the South Korean companies operating in the United States are likely to suffer from “great confusion” because they will now have to return workers home to solve visa issues. Such developments will undermine American interests, but Trump will likely make any concessions any time soon.
Southern Koreans ask the American visa system
On Friday, Stephen Sheeranik, the main undersecretary of Georgia, said on Friday that some of the detained workers crossed the American border illegally, while others entered legally but they have finished visas or entered into a waiver of the visa that prevented them from working.
But officials and experts in South Korea expressed their frustration over what they call strict borders in the United States on visas for foreign workers with high skills to protect its domestic workforce, and failing Seoul’s calls to expand work visas for skilled citizens in South Korea. As a result, South Korea companies rely on short -term visas or electronic travel licensing system to send workers who need to launch manufacturing facilities or deal with other preparation tasks.
“This incident will exacerbate the deficiency of skilled workers with a license for legal work and create pressure to increase the costs of employment, and perhaps disrupting operations and high costs through major commercial projects in the United States,” Eugene said in South Korea in a report on Monday.
At the same time, Daishin Securities predicted in a report that RAID could delay its operations in the targeted battery factory, which was scheduled to start production early next year, which could affect Hyundai EV in America.
During the legislative session on Monday, Zhu, Foreign Minister, told the legislators that the United States “did not respond sufficiently” of South Korea’s requests to expand visas to its workers, and that Seoul plans to use this raid as an opportunity to double the relevant negotiations forward.
Zhou said that some people detained in Georgia may need to return to the site to complete their work in the factory, and that South Korean officials are negotiating to ensure their inclusion in the United States.
“I will clearly indicate that the delay in completing (the factory) will also lead to great losses to the United States,” said Zhu.
The Associated Press writer Jill Lubs contributed in London.