Seoul [South Korea], September 7: South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has ordered all-out efforts to respond to the arrests of hundreds of the country's citizens in an immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor-LG car battery factory in the United States.
Thursday's arrest of some 475 workers - more than 300 of them South Korean nationals - at the plant near Savannah in the southern US state of Georgia was the largest single-site enforcement operation carried out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an arm of the US Department of Homeland Security.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Saturday said President Lee has instructed officials to swiftly resolve the matter, stressing that the rights and interests of South Korean nationals and the business operations of South Korean companies investing in the US "must not be infringed upon", South Korea's official Yonhap news agency said in a report.
"We are deeply concerned and feel a heavy sense of responsibility over the arrests of our nationals," Cho was quoted by Yonhap before an emergency meeting on Saturday to tackle the incident.
Responding to a reporter's question about the immigration raid, Trump on Friday remarked during an event at the White House, "I would say that they were illegal aliens, and ICE was just doing its job."
South Korea's opposition People Power Party (PPP) reacted angrily to the detentions, warning they "could pose a serious risk" to the country.
"This is a grave matter that could lead to broader repercussions for Korean companies and communities across the United States," PPP chairman Jang Dong-hyeok said in a statement.
Source: Qatar Tribune
