Photos of the South Korean news agency Yonhap showed how the workers came to the airport after a week in a US Internet camp and waving buses. Officials from the ICE immigration police had arrested 475 workers in the US state of Georgia last Thursday in a battery factory of the companies Hyundai and LG.
The South Korean head of state Lee blamed “cultural differences” for the raid. After the arrest, “South Korean companies would not be able to ask themselves whether the construction of a factory in the USA is worth the potential risks,” said Lee.
South Korea had promised US President Donald Trump at the end of July as part of a customs agreement of $ 350 billion. In return, Trump announced tariffs of 15 percent for the country – ten percentage points less than initially threatened.
The government in Seoul subsequently voted the raid against migrants. Trump, on the other hand, defended the procedure and stated that the workers had “illegally” held up in the United States. President Lee also indirectly admitted that the forces had no valid papers. In South Korea, however, many US tourists also worked with tourist visa, such as an English teacher, he emphasized.
South Korea, the fourth largest economy of Asia, is an important automotive and electronics manufacturer with several works in the USA. The largest companies, including the car manufacturer Hyundai and the LG technology giant, have invested billions in the establishment of new factories in the USA. Economic experts assume that they will have to learn and employ local forces in the future, as from Trump.
In the election campaign, the US President had announced that it would take action hard against immigrants without a valid residence permit and to deport millions of foreigners without papers. Since taking office, hooded ICE officials have been committed to raids across the country. The procedure is highly controversial.
