INCHEON, South Korea — Hundreds of South Korean workers detained in a U.S. immigration raid arrived in Seoul on Friday, ending a weeklong ordeal that has created business uncertainty and strained relations with a key U.S. ally.
More than 300 South Koreans — 307 men and 10 women — were among 475 people detained in the Sept. 4 raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia by U.S. immigration and other federal officials who said they were investigating allegations of unlawful employment practices.
The Korean Air plane was also carrying 14 employees of South Korean companies from China, Japan and Indonesia, while one of the 317 South Koreans decided to remain in the United States rather than agree to “voluntary departure.”
Dozens of television cameras were set up behind security barriers at Incheon International Airport outside Seoul to capture the workers returning home with dignity, in what South Korean officials hope will be a salve for a public that was shocked and angered by images of their compatriots being shackled and treated like criminals by U.S. immigration officials.
A man protesting in the terminal held up a sign that read in part, “Do we keep investing in the U.S. despite backstabbing?”
Another unfurled a banner showing a likeness of President Donald Trump in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniform carrying a bag of cash. It read: “We’re friends. Aren’t we?”
Kang Hoon-sik, President Lee Jae Myung’s chief of staff, was at the gate to greet the passengers as they left the plane.
“Thank you all for your hard work,” he said. “You’ve been through a lot.”
The workers came out of the baggage claim in groups, accompanied by officials and police officers. Some waved, some carried bags or other belongings, and many were wearing masks. There was some applause from onlookers as each new group emerged.
Workers interviewed by NBC News and others said they were relieved to be home after an experience that one man said felt like being in a movie.
“It was even more intense than we imagined, with armored vehicles and guns pointed at us,” he said. “There was no way we could resist, so we all just surrendered and were taken in.”
Another said that he wanted to leave detention as quickly as possible.
“It was quite cold and difficult there, but now that I am in South Korea, I feel nothing but joy,” he said.
Media were instructed by the South Korean Foreign Ministry not to name the workers or show their faces to protect their privacy.
More than a dozen buses parked outside the arrivals area waited to take the returning workers to be reunited with their families elsewhere.
The mother of one of the returning workers walked with her son and said she would “cook something delicious so that he can recover his health.”
The plane, which was chartered by the South Korean government, took off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around noon ET on Thursday, a day after South Korean officials had originally hoped.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Trump delayed the repatriation in order to discuss with South Korea whether its detained nationals should remain in the U.S. to continue their work helping to set up an electric vehicle battery plant being jointly built by South Korean companies Hyundai and LG Energy Solution.
South Korean officials said it would be best for them to return home first after spending a week in ICE detention.
The workers were released shortly after 2 a.m. ET Thursday from the Folkston ICE Processing Center in rural Georgia, without any physical restraints such as handcuffs — one of South Korea’s main demands in negotiations with U.S. officials.
Construction on the $4.3 billion battery plant, part of a bigger complex in the town of Ellabell that is expected to create about 8,500 American jobs, has been delayed by at least two to three months, a spokesperson for Hyundai North America confirmed to NBC News on Thursday, citing Hyundai chief executive José Muñoz.
Of the detained South Koreans, 47 were employed by LG Energy Solution and the rest were hired by subcontractors. Hyundai, South Korea’s largest automaker, said none of its direct employees were detained.
In a statement, LG Energy Solution apologized to the workers and their families and thanked the South Korean government and others who worked to secure their release.
“We are profoundly thankful for the extraordinary efforts to not only ensure an unusually swift release but also to carefully address various concerns, including guaranteeing that there will be no disadvantages upon re-entry,” the company said. “Above all, our company deeply empathizes with the hardship endured by those affected.”
The workers were in the U.S. under various short-term visa programs that are commonly used for business trips but whose exact guidelines aren’t always clear. Many in South Korea have questioned the fairness of the Trump administration suddenly cracking down on a practice the U.S. has tolerated for years.
The incident has raised concerns about the potential impact on business ties with South Korea, which has pledged $500 billion in U.S. investment, including $26 billion from Hyundai, as part of tariff negotiations.
President Lee, who met with Trump at the White House just weeks before the raid, said Thursday that it could make companies more hesitant to invest in the U.S.
Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said it was standard practice for experts from other countries to travel to the U.S. to set up and install high-tech equipment, especially when it involves patents or other sensitive information such as battery cells for electric vehicles.
The jobs created by projects such as the Hyundai-LG battery plant are difficult for American workers to do if they haven’t been properly trained by those experts, he said.
“It’s not a good look when the South Korean government has to charter a plane to bring its citizens home over alleged visa inconsistencies,” Wheaton said. “It sends a message to other potential foreign investors that building plants here carries risk of arrest or detainment.”
About 145 workers from other countries, including Guatemala, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela, remain in detention after the raid. The Korean Metal Workers’ Union and the United Auto Workers called for their release, saying their employers had forced them to shoulder the visa risk.
“Capital must stop shifting the burden of identified crises onto the backs of workers and instead take full responsibility for ensuring a safe work environment,” they said in a statement Thursday.
Janis Mackey Frayer and Ed Flanagan reported from Incheon, Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong and Stella Kim from Los Angeles.
