Workers detained in a large-scale Hyundai factory operation in Georgia are set to be returned to South Korea

In a significant development, the South Korean government has announced that over 300 South Korean nationals, who were among the 475 people detained during a raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia, will be released and brought home.

The raid, which occurred at a plant under construction in partnership with LG Energy Solution, was part of a series of workplace raids conducted during the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda. The video released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed federal agents directing workers to line up outside the plant, frisking and shackling some detainees.

None of the detainees has been charged with any crimes yet, according to Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations. The investigation into the raid is ongoing, as Schrank confirmed.

The negotiations for the workers' release were finalized between South Korea and the U.S. South Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a separate statement expressing "concern and regret" over the case and sent diplomats to the site. The South Korean government official traveling to the United States on Monday to negotiate the release of the detained workers has not been specified in the search results.

The raid stunned many in South Korea because South Korea is a key U.S. ally. The South Korean President, Lee Jae Myung, expressed concern and regret over the treatment of South Korean nationals during U.S. law enforcement procedures at the Hyundai plant in Georgia.

The large size of the raid and the significance of the targeted site as Georgia's largest economic development project make this incident distinct. South Korea plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home after completing remaining administrative steps.

This news comes after U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held their first meeting in Washington about two weeks before the raid. It is also worth noting that South Korea agreed in July to purchase $100 billion in U.S. energy and make a $350 billion investment in the U.S. in return for the U.S. lowering tariff rates.

In response to the incident, South Korea's presidential chief of staff, Kang, announced that South Korea will push to review and improve visa systems for those traveling to the U.S. on business trips for investment projects.

Some of the detained workers had illegally crossed the U.S. border, while others had entered the country legally but had expired visas or had entered on a visa waiver that prohibited them from working. The Hyundai plant in Georgia, where electric vehicles are manufactured, is a crucial site for both countries, and it is hoped that this incident will not affect the positive relations between the U.S. and South Korea.

Workers detained in a large-scale Hyundai factory operation in Georgia are set to be returned to South Korea