The diplomatic relationship between South Korea and the United States faced an unexpected test this September, as a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia led to the detention of hundreds of South Korean workers. The incident sent shockwaves through both nations, prompting urgent high-level talks and raising pressing questions about the treatment of foreign workers and the future of bilateral investment.
On September 14, 2025, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau met with South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo in Seoul, just two days after 316 South Korean nationals returned home. These workers had spent eight tense days in US detention following the September 4 raid, which targeted an EV battery plant being built by HL-GA Battery Co., a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution. The event, as reported by The Korea Herald and Reuters, marked the largest mass detention of Korean workers in US history and immediately became a flashpoint for both governments.
Landau’s visit to Seoul was widely seen as a crucial gesture of goodwill and accountability. According to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, Landau “expressed deep regret over the fact that this incident occurred and said that this incident should be used as a turning point for institutional improvement and for strengthening the (South) Korea–US relationship.” For many observers, this was a significant moment—the first time a senior US official had publicly acknowledged the gravity of the incident and the distress it caused not only to the workers but to the South Korean public at large.
The meeting between Landau and Park was described as “timely” by the South Korean side, given the public outcry and the emotional homecoming of the detained workers. Park did not mince words, telling Landau that “not only the workers but also the Korean public had been deeply shocked by this incident, referring to the unfair treatment that Korean company workers had to endure in US detention facilities.” She pressed the US to take “concrete measures to prevent a recurrence and improve the system in order to ease public anxiety,” as reported by The Korea Herald.
At the heart of the issue lies the complicated reality of US immigration and visa policy. Most of the detained workers had entered the United States on short-term business visas—either B-1 visas or through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). These visas are intended for brief business visits, not employment, and their use in large-scale industrial projects has long been a source of confusion and risk. As South Korea’s largest foreign investor in the US in 2023—with $21.5 billion invested and an additional $350 billion pledged under a new trade framework—the country’s companies have repeatedly flagged visa challenges as a major obstacle to their US operations.
Vice Minister Park used the meeting to urge the US to create a new visa category tailored specifically for South Korean professionals and to establish a bilateral working group to hammer out the details. She emphasized that “South Korean returnees must not face any disadvantages upon reentry into the US” and called for expedited follow-up measures, echoing Seoul’s broader call for clear guidelines and institutional reforms to support Korean business investments in the US.
Landau responded positively to these requests, stating, according to the ministry, that “the US fully recognizes the significant contribution of Korean companies’ investment activities to the revival of the US economy and manufacturing sector.” He pledged that Washington “will provide institutional support for those efforts and move quickly to hold working-level consultations on the follow-up measures mentioned by Vice Minister Park, including ensuring that visas commensurate with the contributions of Korean workers are issued.”
The diplomatic outreach extended beyond Landau’s meeting with Park. Earlier that same day, Landau also sat down with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. Cho, in a previous meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State and White House National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, and Deputy National Security Adviser Andy Baker, had proposed both the establishment of a working group and the creation of a new visa category. These proposals now appear to be gaining traction, with both sides agreeing on the need for swift, concrete action.
President Donald Trump’s involvement in the matter was a recurring theme in the discussions. Landau assured his South Korean counterparts that “the returnees will face no disadvantages when re-entering the US, as President Trump is paying close attention to this issue and that efforts will be made to ensure that no similar incidents occur in the future.” The ministry further noted that Trump had “high interest” in the case and had even suggested that the Korean workers could remain in the US if they wished, a statement that was echoed by South Korea’s top security adviser after the workers’ return.
For many in South Korea, the episode has exposed vulnerabilities in the current visa and immigration system, particularly for countries making large-scale investments in the US. Despite South Korea’s economic contributions, only about 2,000 South Koreans with specialty occupations receive H-1B visas annually—a tiny fraction of the 85,000 issued each year. The gap between the scale of South Korean investment and the limited visa access available to its workers has become a pressing concern for both governments.
Seoul’s calls for reform are not without precedent. In the past, other major US trading partners have successfully negotiated special visa categories or streamlined processes to facilitate business operations and large-scale investment projects. The hope among South Korean officials and business leaders is that the current crisis can serve as a catalyst for similar reforms, reducing uncertainty and ensuring that future investments are not jeopardized by bureaucratic snafus or sudden enforcement actions.
The US Embassy in Seoul, when contacted by Reuters, was not immediately available for comment. However, the tone of the weekend’s meetings suggests a shared recognition that the stakes are high—not just for the workers involved, but for the broader economic and strategic relationship between the two countries.
As both governments move forward, working-level consultations are expected to accelerate in the coming weeks. The establishment of a bilateral working group, the creation of a new visa category, and the development of clearer guidelines for business visas are all on the table. Whether these efforts will be enough to restore confidence and prevent future crises remains to be seen. But for now, at least, the two allies appear determined to turn a moment of crisis into an opportunity for lasting institutional improvement.
With hundreds of workers safely home and high-level assurances on both sides, the focus now shifts to the hard work of reforming a system that, for all its complexity, is vital to the health of one of the world’s most important economic partnerships.