Days after Georgia immigration raid, South Korean workers freed, await return to Seoul

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00:00More than 300 South Koreans are free and awaiting a flight to Seoul after they were swept up

00:05in an immigration raid at a Georgia construction site last week.

00:11The development, reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes after the workers were arrested

00:15at an electric vehicle plant under construction. South Korea says of its 317 nationals who were

00:21detained, just one has asked to remain behind with family in the United States. The other 316 will

00:28board a flight Thursday at noon Eastern and arrive in Seoul Friday. The flight was originally slated

00:34to take off Wednesday, but South Korean officials cited circumstances on the U.S. side for the

00:39holdup. According to the Washington Post, President Trump paused the repatriation process to see if

00:45there was a way to keep the workers in the U.S. But South Korean officials say the workers were

00:51already, quote, shocked and exhausted by the incident. They say it's best if they return home

00:56before re-entering the United States. President Trump also ordered the South Korean nationals to

01:02be free of physical restraints after images of detained workers in shackles drew outrage from

01:07South Koreans. South Korea's president warns the incident could have a chilling effect on his

01:13country's business investments in the U.S., noting confusion with the rules of workers' visas.

01:19Many South Korean companies send employees to the U.S. under temporary visa waivers or on short-term

01:25business visas to help fill gaps in skilled labor. Some of those detained were reportedly engineers

01:31and installation experts. The immigration status of all the South Koreans detained is unclear,

01:36but the Department of Homeland Security said they were among 475 arrested in an operation at a site

01:43where Hyundai is working in coordination with LG Energy Solution to build an EV plant. DHS says those

01:50detained had entered the U.S. illegally, violated or overstayed their visas. South Korean officials are

01:56now urging the United States to reform its worker visa rules to avoid a similar incident.

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