We are very concerned and feel a great responsibility for our detained citizens, says Foreign Minister Cho Hyun in connection with a crisis meeting during the weekend, reports The Korea Times.
If necessary, I will personally travel to Washington to talk to the US government, he says further.
According to Cho Hyun, President Lee Jae Myung has instructed the authorities to do everything required to get a quick solution, and the president emphasizes that the rights of South Korean citizens must be respected and that business interests of Korean companies investing in the US must not be restricted.
It was on Thursday that hundreds of federal agents struck against the multi-billion facility in Georgia, where the South Korean car giant Hyundai manufactures electric cars and also builds a battery factory together with the South Korean LG Energy Solution.
475 people were arrested, of which over 300 South Koreans according to an estimate from Seoul.
1,200 employees
The raid is the largest workplace raid since Trump took office in January. Some of those arrested are said to have worked at the battery factory, while others are reported to have been employed by subcontractors.
The facility, with around 1,200 employees, is located about four miles outside Savannah and is considered one of the largest and most important in the state. Hyundai started manufacturing electric cars at the factory a year ago.
Agents are said to have specifically targeted the adjacent battery factory, and the operation was preceded by a several-month-long investigation, according to Steven Schrank at HSI, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to Schrank, some of those arrested are said to have entered the US illegally, while others are alleged to have had incorrect or expired visas, reports AP.
Approved visas
Lawyer Charles Kuck, who represents two arrested persons, says to AP that his clients worked with approved visas and that they planned to travel home to South Korea soon.
US President Donald Trump believes that the people arrested were "illegal immigrants".
We want good relations with other countries, and we want a good, stable workforce, he says about the reactions from South Korea, according to BBC.
