South Korea’s top diplomat said he will travel to Washington if needed over a US migrant raid at a Hyundai Motor manufacturing complex, confirming that more than 300 among 475 people detained under the operation are its citizens.
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Foreign Minister Cho Hyun presided over an emergency response meeting in Seoul on Saturday after US federal agents carried out the sweep at a construction site for an electric vehicle battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, this week.
“The president has emphasised that the economic activities of our companies investing in the US must not be unduly infringed upon in the course of US law enforcement,” Cho said at the start of the meeting.
“We will review promptly dispatching a senior official to the site, including myself travelling to Washington to engage in consultations with the US administration, if needed,” he said, adding that President Lee Jae-myung ordered a swift, all-out response to the arrests.
South Korean First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoon-joo called the incident “regrettable” during a Saturday phone call with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, especially because photos were released of the South Korean workers being arrested, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
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Park asked the US to resolve the situation. The State Department referred comments to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.