‘Deeply concerned’: South Korea vows to support citizens arrested in US raid

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday ordered all-out efforts to swiftly respond to the arrests of hundreds of the nation’s citizens in a US immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor car battery factory.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said the government had set up a team to respond to Thursday’s arrest of more than 300 Koreans at the facility in the southern state of Georgia, and that he could go to Washington to meet officials if needed.

“I am deeply concerned. I feel heavy responsibility for the arrests of our citizens,” Cho told an emergency government meeting.

The incident could exacerbate tensions between the Trump administration and Seoul, a key Asian ally and investor. They have been at odds over the details of a trade deal that includes US$350 billion of South Korean investment in the United States.

A video released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed Asian workers shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles getting on a bus after the raid, which involved a helicopter and armoured vehicles.

The arrest of some 475 workers, including more than 300 Koreans, at the plant near Savannah, part of President Donald Trump’s escalating crackdown on immigrants, was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the US Department of Homeland Security’s history.