Seoul: A chartered Korean Air aircraft departed Incheon International Airport at 10:21 am local time on Tuesday to repatriate South Korean workers detained during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia, United States, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The wide-body plane, with a seating capacity of 368, has been dispatched to transport around 300 South Korean workers who were taken into custody during the immigration crackdown at the battery manufacturing facility. The return flight is expected to land in South Korea on Thursday.
Cho Ki-joong, Consul General at the Korean Embassy in Washington, DC, confirmed that discussions with US authorities were in their “final stages” and said most of the workers would be repatriated under a “voluntary departure” arrangement rather than deportation.
The incident underscores growing scrutiny of migrant labor practices in the United States, particularly within foreign-run manufacturing plants.
