In an incident that has shaken the foundation of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, the South Korean government has convened an emergency meeting after a massive immigration raid on a Hyundai factory in Georgia led to the detention of hundreds of its citizens. The operation, described by U.S. officials as the largest single-site enforcement action in history, has ignited a diplomatic firestorm and prompted an immediate and furious response from Seoul.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in a televised statement, pledged “all-out efforts” to protect his nationals, stating that the “rights of our people and the economic activities of our companies must not be unjustly infringed upon.” The rare rebuke of a key ally came after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with multiple federal agencies, descended on a new Hyundai electric vehicle plant near Savannah, detaining nearly 500 workers.
According to South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, more than 300 of those arrested are believed to be South Korean nationals. Officials said the raid was the culmination of a months-long criminal investigation into alleged unlawful employment practices. While U.S. authorities have stated that many of the detainees were in the country illegally, had overstayed their visas, or were working in violation of their statuses, the raid’s scale and the targeting of workers from a key ally has sent shockwaves through the region.
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The timing of the raid is particularly sensitive. It comes just weeks after President Lee pledged an additional $150 billion in investment to the U.S., a gesture meant to ease tensions over tariffs and bolster the economic alliance. The Hyundai factory, a joint venture with LG Energy Solution, represents a $7.6 billion investment and is considered the largest economic development project in Georgia’s history.
For Hyundai, the incident has created a public relations crisis. The company released a statement saying it was “closely monitoring the situation” and that none of those detained were directly employed by the firm, which it said relied on subcontractors. But for South Korean opposition leader Jang Dong-hyuk, the arrests have created a “national-level risk” for the country’s firms, warning that the incident proves the Trump administration’s “America First” policies supersede even its closest relationships.
As South Korean diplomats are being dispatched to the detention facility to assist their citizens, the incident remains a major test of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. The raid has not only put a spotlight on the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown but also raised profound questions about the trust and stability of a partnership that has long been a cornerstone of American foreign policy in Asia.