South Korea says deal reached with US for release of workers detained at Georgia auto plant

The South Korean government announced on Sunday that it reached a deal with the United States to secure the release and repatriation of over 300 of its citizens who were detained during a sweeping U.S. immigration enforcement action at a Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia. 

A charter flight will be arranged when all administrative steps are finalized, according to presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik.

The immigration enforcement operation took place on Thursday when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 475 individuals, mostly Korean nationals, at a Hyundai electric vehicle battery plant shared with LG Energy Solution near Ellabell, Georgia.

The Guardian reported that the operation was the largest workplace immigration raid targeting a single site in the history of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.