The South Korean government is preparing to send a special charter flight to Atlanta this week to repatriate several hundred of its nationals detained during a large-scale U.S. immigration raid, officials confirmed Tuesday, according to Reuters.
A Korean Air representative said a Boeing 747-8i, with capacity for 368 passengers, is scheduled to depart from Incheon International Airport as early as Wednesday to bring home workers who were swept up in the operation.
Roughly 300 South Korean nationals were among 475 people arrested last week at a massive construction site in Georgia, where Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution are investing $4.3 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is also traveling to Washington to press for assurances that the detained workers may be granted permission to re-enter the United States in the future.
A senior South Korean diplomat who met with the workers in Georgia stated that authorities have already begun the formal process of repatriating them to their home country.
The Department of Homeland Security called the raid the largest single-site enforcement action in its history. The scale of the operation has caused concern in Seoul, where officials are trying to protect relations with the U.S. as they finish a trade agreement made in July.
