Hundreds of detained South Koreans return home

The more than 300 South Korean nationals detained during immigration raids last week arrived back in South Korea early Friday morning, according to South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. The Koreans were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers last week at a Hyundai and LG Energy battery plant in Bryan County, Ga. About 316 South Korean citizens returned home on a chartered flight after enduring difficult circumstances, Cho wrote Friday. He earlier said he was shocked by the publicized detentions of the workers, whom he characterized as helping to revitalize U.S. manufacturing.

A total of 475 non-citizens, a majority of whom were South Korean, were detained in the raid, which came after months of investigation, Homeland Security investigative agent Steven Schrank said at a press conference last week about the operation. South Korean officials shared concern and unhappiness over the detainments, with President Lee Jae-myung saying the raids made companies uneasy about future U.S. investments. Cho met with Deputy National Security Advisor Andrew Baker in Washington, D.C. to express his concern over the detentions. Cho proposed stronger bilateral discussion over visa issues in the future, according to a Thursday statement.

What’s happening moving forward? Officials from South Korea and the United States agreed to establish a working group to discuss the creation of a new visa category, Cho said Friday. The diplomats also planned to establish a desk in the U.S. Embassy in South Korea dedicated to ensuring people with American business and investments can swiftly obtain visas, he added. State Secretary Marco Rubio also assured that the workers' detainments will not cause problems for them when returning to America for work, Cho said.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on South Korean officials sharing their investment concerns after the ICE raid.