The arrest of 300 South Korean workers in the United States causes resentment in Seoul. He hoped that such a situation will “never” come back, said South Korea’s President Lee.
After the arrest of more than 300 South Korean citizens, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung expressed sharp criticism of the USA. Last Thursday, workers were arrested at a raid on the joint factory premises of the car manufacturer Hyundai and the energy company LG Energy Solution in Georgia.
“I hope that there will never be any unfair interventions in the activities of our citizens and companies that contribute to the joint development of Koreas and the United States,” said Lee, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. He feels a deep responsibility towards the arrested. He announced that they will soon return to their homeland.
Consciousness between the Trading partners
The South Korean daily “Hankyoreh” wrote in an editorial that the Korean people feel like “as if they had put a blow in his back”. In a recent survey, 59 percent of South Koreans stated that they find the procedure of the US authorities “exaggerated”, the newspaper continued. There have been demonstrations in front of the United States’ message in the Center of Seoul several times over the past few days.
On the diplomatic parquet, the campaign also caused irritation because President Lee had promised the United States a few weeks ago in the amount of $ 350 million – in order to be able to soothe Donald Trump’s dissatisfaction with the high level of trade and negotiate cheaper customs conditions.
Company Business trips in the USA
Overall, the Raid of the US immigration authority ICE was arrested together with the FBI 475 foreign workers, the majority of which are to come from South Korea. According to the US Department of Homeland Protection, it was the greatest raid at a single location in history. The US authorities accused the arrested of either being illegally in the United States or having worked there without the appropriate permission.
Hyundai announced that there were no employees of the carmaker among the arrested. In contrast, 47 employees of the LG Energy Solution and 250 workers were arrested by subcontractors. As a result, LG recalled business trips and is currently initiating further trips to the USA, with the exception of customer discussions.
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has traveled to Washington in the past few days to negotiate the release of South Korean citizens. Yonhap reported that an empty passenger aircraft should fly from Incheon to Atlanta on Wednesday to collect the arrested Koreans there.
