South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has publicly condemned the US immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Energy Solution battery plant in Georgia that resulted in over 300 Korean workers being detained.
During a press conference in Seoul marking his 100th day in office, President Lee Jae Myung said that the event has raised concerns among Korean companies investing billions in the United States.
“They simply needed skilled technicians to install the equipment to build the plant because there aren’t workers available in the US. This could have a significant impact on future direct investment into the US.”
“It’s not like these are long-term workers. When you build a facility or install equipment at a plant, you need technicians, but the United States doesn’t have that workforce and yet they won’t issue visas to let our people stay and do the work,” he said.
“If that’s not possible, then establishing a local facility in the United States will either come with severe disadvantages or become very difficult for our companies. They will wonder whether they should even do it.”
“In South Korea, we see Americans coming on tourist visas to teach English at private cram schools — they do it all the time, and we don’t think much of it, it’s just something you accept.”
“But the United States clearly doesn’t see things that way. On top of that, U.S. immigration authorities pledge to strictly forbid illegal immigration and employment and carry out deportations in various aggressive ways, and our people happened to be caught in one of those cases,” he concluded.
Regarding his upcoming meeting with President Trump scheduled for next month, Lee said, “We still have a long way to go in the negotiations. What’s on the surface may look rough, excessive, unreasonable, even irrational, but the final conclusion will come out in a reasonable way, and we must make sure it does.”
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
