Companies will hesitate to invest in us after attack

South Korean companies will be “very hesitant” about investing in the United States after a large-scale immigration raid at a Hindai factory in Georgia last week, President Lee Ji-Muung said.

More than 300 South Koreans who were arrested in the attack should return home on Friday. Their departure has been delayed “Due to the circumstances of the US,” staff said.

“The situation is extremely confusing,” Lee said, noting that it is a common practice for Korean companies to send workers to help create factories abroad.

“If this is no longer allowed, the creation of manufacturing facilities in the US will only become more difficult … It will make companies question whether it is worth doing at all.”

The BBC contacted the White House for comment.

Last week, US officials detained 475 people – more than 300 of them South Korean citizens – whom they said they were working illegally in the battery, one of the largest projects for foreign investment in the country.

Lee, who spoke at a press conference to mark the first 100 days of his Presidency, said Seoul was negotiating with Washington on South Korea’s visa options, “whether it means providing (higher) quotas or creating new visa categories.”

“I think the US will handle it if they see it as a practical necessity,” he said.

Departure for US workers has been delayed due to White House instruction, he added.

President Donald Trump has ordered the pause to check that workers are ready to stay in the United States to continue working and train Americans, according to a South Korea Foreign Ministry.

The LG Energy Solution, which manages the plant with Hyundai, said many of its arrested employees had different types of visas or were under a visa waiver program.

A A factory worker speaks with BBC about panic and confusion during the attack. The employee stated that the bigger majority of the detained workers are a mechanics installing production lines on the site and are hired by a contractor.

South Korea, a close ally of the United States in Asia, has promised to invest tens of billions of dollars in America, partly to compensate for tariffs.

The media in the country described the attack as a “shock”, with the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper warning that it could have a “freezing effect on the activities of our business in the United States”.

The Yonhap news agency publishes an edition on Thursday, calling on the two countries to “cooperate to repair cracks in their union.”

The time of the attack, as the two governments are involved in sensitive trade conversations, has caused concern in Seoul.

The White House defended the operation at the Hyundai plant, rejecting fears that the attack could deter foreign investment.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump referred to an attack on social media publication and called on foreign companies to hire Americans.

The US government would make “fast and legal possible” foreign companies to put workers in the country if they obey its immigration laws, Trump said.