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South Korea’s government has said it will launch an investigation into whether human rights violations were committed when hundreds of its citizens were detained in a US immigration raid.
About 475 people, mostly South Korean nationals, were arrested at the construction site of an electric vehicle battery factory in the US state of Georgia on 4 September.
The raid was the largest single-site operation conducted since the US president, Donald Trump, launched a sweeping immigration crackdown. Images of the workers chained and handcuffed shocked South Korea, prompting a stern rebuke from Seoul.
After delicate diplomatic negotiations, the detained South Korean workers were released and flown back to Seoul. Some of the workers told local media about appalling conditions during their arrest, including allegations they were held without being informed of their rights.
When asked about those allegations, the presidential office in Seoul said it was conducting a “thorough review”.
“Both our side and the US are checking if there were any shortcomings in the measures taken and companies are also looking into it,” the presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told a press briefing. “Together with the company concerned, we are conducting a more thorough review into possible human rights infringements.”
One of the workers told Yonhap News Agency that their rights were not read when they were arrested. The worker also told the agency they were angry that Ice agents mocked them with remarks about “North Korea” and “rocket man” – an insult Trump has previously used about Pyongyang’s leader, Kim Jong-un.
South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, called the raid “bewildering” and noted it could have a chilling effect on future investment. South Korean companies “can’t help but question whether setting up a plant in the US is worth the potential risks”, Lee said.
In what seemed to be a response, Trump said on Sunday that foreign workers were “welcome” and he did not want to scare investors.
“I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize investment,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
