US immigration raid disrupts construction at multiple Korean battery plants

By Hyonhee Shin

 

The immigration raid at an LG Energy Solution Ltd.-owned battery plant in Georgia has disrupted construction at multiple sites across the US, clouding the outlook for billions of dollars of investment by South Korean conglomerates.

 

LG Energy has issued an internal notice calling for the immediate return of all workers and contractors traveling in the US under a short-term visa waiver programme, commonly referred to as ESTA, while advising those on a B-1 visa to stay at their hotels, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. 

 

The top South Korean battery maker is building three other production lines in Arizona, Michigan and Ohio. Hundreds of Korean employees and contractors hired by LG Energy are setting up equipment and training other personnel at the sites, which are scheduled to begin operations next year. 

 

But the unprecedented raid at the company’s joint venture Georgia plant with Hyundai Motor Co. last week led to a halt in construction and the detention of some 300 Korean workers, most of whom were on ESTA or B-1 visas, which allow limited business engagement. 

 

Some work is continuing at the construction sites, the person said. South Korea’s Kyunghyang newspaper reported earlier that the company has effectively ceased construction at the other three sites.

 

The incident rattled South Korea, a longtime ally and one of the US’s biggest investors and trading partners, as it came just two weeks after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump held a summit to strengthen their economic and security partnerships.  

 

South Korea plans to send a chartered plane to the US on Wednesday to bring home the detained workers, which could mark the country’s largest evacuation mission since it airlifted some 700 citizens from China after the Covid-19 crisis erupted in early 2020.

 

LG Energy CEO Kim Dong-Myung will accompany about 330 people on the aircraft operated by Korean Air Lines Co., slated to depart Atlanta on early Wednesday and arrive in Seoul on Thursday afternoon, a person familiar with the situation said. LG Energy declined to comment.