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Seoul, South Korean Foreign Minister Zhao Yonghee said at an emergency meeting on Saturday that President Lee Jae-ming has promised to "do his best" to protect South Korean citizens in the United States. Previously, a large-scale immigration raid at the Hyundai factory in Georgia suddenly caused tension in relations between the two countries.

The raid took place Thursday, with a total of 475 workers arrested, the largest workplace enforcement operation to date during President Trump's second term. The background of the raid is that several months of intense negotiations have been held between Washington and Seoul over tariffs and investment issues.

At the government's emergency meeting on Saturday afternoon, South Korea's Foreign Minister Jo Yong-hee said more than 300 of the arrested workers were South Korean citizens. He added heavily: "We are deeply concerned about the arrest of our citizens and feel a heavy responsibility."

The raid occurred during a sensitive period in bilateral relations between the United States and South Korea. The ongoing tariff negotiations between the two countries have clarified South Korea's investment in the United States - a total of up to $350 billion - in exchange for the United States' lower tariff rates.

Large Korean consortiums such as Hyundai and LG will play a key role in promoting these huge investments. However, the immigration raid undoubtedly sounded a wake-up call for South Korean businesses and government officials, causing them to have deep concerns about the political reality of doing business in the United States.

Cho Yongxi conveyed President Lee Jae-ming's position, emphasizing that in the process of law enforcement in the United States, the rights and interests of his own citizens must be protected and the economic activities of enterprises in the United States must not be violated.

Trump's second term focus

Cho Yongxi added that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is considering sending senior officials to Atlanta, and officials from various ministries are also maintaining close communication with the South Korean Consulate in Atlanta.

It is reported that the electric vehicle battery factory under construction is jointly operated by South Korean automaker Hyundai and LG Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of the LG Group, and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (Republican) praised it as "the largest project in the history of the state."

Although Hyundai has promised to invest $26 billion in the United States in recent weeks, it clarified in its statement that none of the arrested persons were direct employees of the company.

According to Yonhap News Agency, LG Energy Solutions also issued a statement to local media that it has requested employees traveling to the United States to return to South Korea immediately.

Yonhap News Agency also reported that the company has suspended business trips to the United States except for customer meetings, and is working hard to get the detained employees and subcontractors to be released.

According to Yonhap News Agency, 47 of the detainees were employees of LG Energy Solutions (46 of whom were Korean and 1 Indonesian), and about 250 were subcontractors.

On Saturday, LG Energy Solutions issued a statement to the Washington Post: "We are closely monitoring the developments and collecting all relevant details. Ensuring the safety and well-being of employees and partners is always our top priority and we will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities."

On Friday, Steven Schlank, head of the Atlanta branch of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigation, called the raid "the largest single-site enforcement action" in the agency's history. He revealed that some of the arrested workers illegally crossed the border, while the rest were detained without work permits or visas expired.

Schlank pointed out that the arrested employees came from "multiple different companies on the scene." He stressed that this action not only affected the parent company, but also involved multiple subcontractors.

As the United States' most important trading partner and security ally in Asia, South Korea has recently become tense in relations between the two countries due to tariff negotiations. US and South Korean officials are still finalizing the details of the trade agreement. Although South Korea's investment targets proposed by South Korea have been vigorously promoted by the US, the specific content is still vague.

Trump initially threatened to impose a 25% tariff on South Korean products. In the end, Seoul successfully won a 15% tax rate through the agreement reached this summer.