ICE Conducts Massive Raid At Hyundai EV Plant, Sparks ‘Concern’ From South Korea Govt.

Around 450 workers — including 30 South Korean nationals — were reportedly detained at the South Korean automaker’s Georgia site.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea on Friday expressed “concern and regret” over a major U.S. immigration raid at a sprawling Georgia site where South Korean auto company Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles, which officials said led to the detainment of an unspecified number of South Korean nationals.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lee Jaewoong, read a statement following South Korean media reports that the raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement resulted in the detainment of around 450 people, including 30 South Korean nationals. Lee did not specify exactly how many South Koreans were detained but called the number “large.”

Thursday’s raid targeted one of Georgia’s largest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, touted by the governor and other officials as the largest economic development project in the state’s history.

Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s biggest automaker, began manufacturing EVs a year ago at the $7.6 billion plant, which employs about 1,200 people, and has partnered with LG Energy Solution to build an adjacent battery plant, slated to open next year.

ICE spokesman Lindsay Williams confirmed that federal authorities were conducting an enforcement operation at the 3,000-acre (1,214-hectare) site west of Savannah, Georgia. He said agents were focused on the construction site for the battery plant.