South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will hold an emergency meeting on the detention of citizens at a Hyundai Motor Group plant construction site in the US on suspicion of violating immigration laws, Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier, US authorities detained 457 people, more than 300 of whom were South Korean citizens, at a construction site for electric vehicle batteries of South Korean companies Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Georgia.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed "concern and regret" over the incident. "The economic activities of our companies investing in the US and the rights and interests of our citizens cannot be unjustly violated." "We have conveyed our concerns to the US embassy," South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Lee Jae-un said the previous day. Yonhap News Agency reported that most South Koreans came to the United States on B1 business visas or under the ESTA visa waiver program for short-term visits.
The meeting, chaired by Cho Hyun, will be attended by vice ministers, other senior officials from the Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions.
On September 5, the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported that about 450 illegal immigrants were detained during a large-scale operation at the battery plant of US automaker Hyundai in Bryan County, Georgia.