South Korea vows 'all-out efforts' to help hundreds detained in raid at Hyundai facility in Georgia

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/35547943

South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he was “deeply concerned” and felt “heavy responsibilities for the arrests of our citizens.”

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered “all-out efforts” to respond to the arrests of hundreds of its citizens in an immigration raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia, as the key American ally and trading partner reeled from the news.

Federal and immigration agents arrested 475 people — mostly South Korean nationals — while executing a judicial search warrant as part of a criminal investigation into alleged unlawful employment at the facility.

At an emergency government meeting Saturday, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he was “deeply concerned” and felt “heavy responsibilities for the arrests of our citizens.”

The foreign ministry told NBC News that the government had set up a response team and that Cho was prepared to travel to Washington to meet officials if needed, while Cho reiterated earlier remarks made by Lee that the rights of South Koreans “must be not unjustly infringed.”