South Korea asks US Congress to support a new visa, workers heading home

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Detainees are made to stand against a bus before being handcuffed during a raid by federal agents in Georgia on Sept 4.

PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL - South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has called for the US Congress to support a new visa for Korean businesses, the ministry said on Sept 12, as

hundreds of Korean workers arrested

During his meetings with US senators in Washington, Mr Cho reiterated concerns among South Koreans over the arrests of Korean professionals that participated in investment projects in the US, the ministry said in a statement.

A plane carrying more than 300 workers from South Korea who were detained during the raid at a Hyundai battery factory in Georgia last week left the United States, bound for South Korea.

After being held for a week by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the South Korean workers have been released and flown from Atlanta.

The raid that sent shockwaves across South Korea has threatened to destabilise ties at a time when both countries are seeking to finalise a trade deal, and to scare off South Korean investment in the United States that US President Donald Trump has been keen to secure.

Following the raid, the battery plant is facing a minimum startup delay of two to three months, Hyundai CEO