On September 15, US President Trump (Trump) emphasized in a post on Truth Social that foreign workers are welcome to work in the United States. The post stated that he hopes foreign companies come to the US to “produce complex products, machinery, and various other items and to bring in technicians to train local labor.”
The President stated, “Without this, those large investments simply would not come to America… I do not want to scare off or hinder foreign companies from investing in the US.”
He emphasized that these foreign workers should eventually return to their respective countries.
The post did not mention South Korea, but it seems to be related to the recent incident where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided a Hyundai Motor plant and arrested Korean workers.
On September 4, ICE raided the battery plant construction site jointly owned by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution (LGES) in Georgia. Over 400 workers were arrested for allegedly being in the country illegally or not having valid work permits, including over 300 Korean workers. Except for one person who followed President Trump’s advice to stay in the US, the rest returned to Korea on Thursday.
This raid was seen as one of the Trump administration’s actions involving the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. However, the exact reason Korean employees were arrested was that their tourist/business visas (B-1/B-2) did not allow them to work in the US.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior US diplomat Christopher Landau expressed regret during a meeting with South Korean counterparts over the immigration raid, hinting that this incident could be a turning point to strengthen bilateral relations.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Deputy Secretary Landau expressed deep regrets over this matter and hopes that both South Korea and the US can use this incident as an opportunity to promote improvements in relevant systems and enhance bilateral relations.”
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that “Landau mentioned that President Trump is highly concerned about this matter, and South Korean individuals involved will not face any adverse effects when re-entering the US. The US will strive to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future.”
Apart from the Trump administration’s reconciliation statement, Landau also posted on X platform saying that the US State Department “will ensure that (Korean people) hold the necessary and appropriate visas that comply with our country’s laws.”
Currently, the US allows employers to hire foreign workers engaged in “specialty occupations” on a temporary basis through the H-1B visa program, but the system is highly restrictive due to annual quotas and a lottery mechanism.
South Korean official media reported that the US has agreed to establish a new “visa working group” for Korea to discuss matters including Seoul’s wish to secure separate US visa quotas for its workers.
According to Reuters, a statement from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that officials urged Landau during the meeting in Seoul to push forward discussions on follow-up measures, including new visa categories.
Seoul authorities urged the US to provide clear guidelines on the current business visas and to create a new visa category for Korean professionals to support large-scale investment projects by Korean companies in the US.