Georgia Battery Plant Raid Puts Korean Investment and US Visa Rules Under Strain

475 arrests at a factory central to an alliance

The detention of 475 people at the Hyundai and LG Energy Solution battery complex in Ellabell, Georgia, has disrupted a major industrial project and forced Washington and Seoul to confront a practical question: how can South Korean companies build American factories if the specialists needed to install their equipment cannot reliably obtain permission to work?

Roughly 300 of those detained were South Korean nationals. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, supported by Homeland Security Investigations and other federal teams, carried out the operation near Savannah after what US officials described as an investigation lasting months into unlawful employment and immigration violations. Authorities called it the largest enforcement action at a single site in the history of Homeland Security Investigations.

By September 11, 2025, South Korea had negotiated the release of hundreds of its citizens and arranged a chartered flight home. The diplomatic effort addressed the immediate crisis, but companies still faced uncertainty over staffing, construction schedules and future business travel.

The operation, named Operation Low Voltage, involved more than 400 officers. It halted construction activity at a battery plant within a manufacturing campus that Georgia leaders have promoted as a pillar of the state economy. Hyundai said vehicle production at the adjacent facility continued.

The timing added to the strain. South Korean leaders had recently met their US counterparts to discuss trade, investment and security. Washington has encouraged allies to build American capacity in batteries and clean energy supply chains, while Korean companies have committed billions of dollars to factories across the country. Images of workers in restraints brought anger in Seoul and demands for explanations about visa rules and the treatment of Korean citizens.

What happened at the Ellabell site

Federal agents executed a judicial search warrant at the sprawling campus, which includes Hyundai vehicle production and a battery factory still under construction. Video released by US authorities showed agents ordering workers into lines, frisking some and escorting detainees onto buses.

US officials said those detained had entered the country illegally, overstayed their travel authorization or lacked permission to work. Attorneys representing some detainees said their clients held valid visas and were providing technical guidance rather than taking regular jobs. Those individual cases remained unresolved as authorities examined contractors and documents seized under the warrant.

Many of the detained workers were mechanics and engineers installing production lines or calibrating imported machinery, according to South Korean and US accounts. LG Energy Solution said dozens of its employees had been detained, along with a larger number from partner contractors handling installation and testing. Hyundai said none of those arrested were its direct employees.

The sequence moved quickly from enforcement to negotiations and preparations for departure:

• Federal teams carried out Operation Low Voltage after an investigation lasting months, arresting 475 people and stopping construction activity.
• Over the following days, Seoul and Washington negotiated the release and return of hundreds of South Korean citizens.
• By the following week, buses were taking released detainees to Atlanta for a chartered flight to Seoul.
• South Korean officials said 316 of their citizens would board, along with a small number of nationals from other countries detained at the site.
• The flight was delayed once by procedural issues on the US side and was scheduled to arrive in Seoul the day after departure.

Officials initially described roughly 300 detainees as South Korean; Seoul later gave the more specific figure of 316 citizens expected aboard the charter. The first group of released workers had begun the journey home as arrangements continued.

Why the factory needed visiting specialists

Battery factories depend on machinery that a relatively small group of engineers and technicians know how to install, adjust and test. Korean battery companies have developed proprietary production processes over decades. Bringing those processes to a new American factory requires people who already understand the equipment.

During construction and commissioning, the stage when equipment is tested and prepared for production, companies commonly bring in specialists from machinery suppliers. Their tasks include setting up production lines, troubleshooting faults and training local employees who will eventually operate the plant.

South Korean firms say they are expanding training programs for US workers and building permanent local teams. Yet the number of American workers with practical experience installing and tuning these particular systems has not kept pace with the scale of factory construction.

The assignments are often temporary and involve teams rotating through a site. Executives say visa approvals can take many months, while construction schedules require specialists at particular stages. Companies sometimes rely on outside contractors to assemble teams quickly. When those contractors use travel programs that prohibit the work being performed, workers and businesses face immigration risks and projects can stop abruptly.

The companies describe the visiting technicians as people who install equipment and transfer knowledge before handing operations to permanent US employees. US authorities have suggested that foreign labor displaced American workers. That disagreement sits at the center of the continuing investigation into unlawful hiring.

Where visitor permission and work permission diverge

South Korean citizens can use the Visa Waiver Program to visit the United States for up to 90 days for tourism or routine business activities, such as meetings. It does not authorize employment or hands on work. The B-1 and B-2 visitor categories also provide limited permission to visit rather than general permission to take a job.

A person can therefore hold valid travel documents while still facing questions about whether a particular activity is allowed. The dispute at Ellabell includes exactly what the technicians were doing and whether their immigration status permitted those tasks.

Work visas offer several possible routes, but each has restrictions. The H-1B category has an annual cap and covers specialty occupations that typically require at least a bachelor's degree, often for continuing roles. The L-1 category permits transfers within a company for executives, managers and employees with specialized knowledge, but requires substantial documentation and can take time.

The E-2 investor route can cover employees of qualifying companies from treaty countries. Eligibility requirements and processing schedules can still conflict with the timing of construction work. None of these categories makes work permissible under ordinary visitor status or the Visa Waiver Program.

Industry concerns focus on the gap between these categories and short technical assignments. A specialist may be needed for a limited installation task, while the available immigration routes require a different employment arrangement or a longer preparation period.

Lee links visa certainty to investment

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has connected future investment decisions with the ability to move skilled teams legally and predictably. In remarks marking his 100th day in office, he called for changes to the visa process for Korean personnel supporting American factory projects.

Lee described the options Seoul was pressing Washington to consider:

We are urging the US side to normalize the visa process related to investment, whether by securing sufficient visa quotas or by creating a new category of visa.

US lawmakers have floated the Partner with Korea Act, a proposal to create visas tailored to Korean professionals, but it had not advanced. Seoul also proposed a bilateral working group to prevent similar incidents and sought assurances that workers who complied with voluntary departure would not face penalties affecting later business travel.

South Korea's foreign minister discussed possible new visa categories with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Business groups, including the American Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, urged both governments to clarify the rules so investment projects could proceed smoothly.

The proposals address both access and timing. Companies need a lawful category for the work their employees will perform, along with a process fast enough to match the stages of factory construction. No agreement creating a new category or quota had been announced.

A negotiated return, with dignity at issue

Seoul made the safety and rapid return of its citizens its immediate priorities. After days of negotiations, it announced an agreement with Washington to release hundreds of workers and send them home on a chartered plane.

Kang Hoon sik, chief of staff to President Lee, told officials that administrative steps remained but the repatriation was set. South Korea's foreign ministry said President Donald Trump temporarily paused deportation procedures to hear Seoul's position on the workers' future in the United States.

South Korean officials requested transport without handcuffs or other restraints and pressed for voluntary departure rather than formal deportation wherever possible. US officials said the process would move quickly and the repatriation schedule would be honored. Seoul said Washington respected its request for speed.

Kang described the government's priority in a briefing to ruling party leaders:

We will not let our guard down until we have our people safely back home.

President Lee's office promised both a swift return and lasting changes to allow necessary project work to continue without immigration jeopardy. The two governments planned to continue discussions about how specialists could resume their duties with appropriate legal status.

Trump welcomes expertise, within the law

President Trump addressed foreign investors on social media, welcoming their expertise while calling on them to employ and train Americans. His message placed immigration compliance alongside the administration's desire for manufacturing investment.

Trump said investors could bring skilled personnel legally and promised a process to make that possible:

Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so. What we ask in return is that you hire and train American Workers.

The message reflected a goal also described by Korean companies: visiting specialists would establish production systems and train a permanent American workforce. The immediate problem was how to authorize those specialists before their absence delayed construction.

Washington and Seoul have strengthened economic ties alongside defense cooperation. The Korea US free trade agreement expanded market access, while recent American laws supporting domestic semiconductor, battery and clean energy production encouraged trusted partners to build in the United States.

Korean companies responded with investments across Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas and other locations. Those projects support US goals of creating manufacturing jobs and making supply chains more resilient. The raid exposed friction between that factory building strategy and strict enforcement of immigration and employment rules.

What is at stake for Hyundai and its suppliers

The Georgia vehicle and battery facilities together represent an investment exceeding $12 billion. The governor has described the complex as the biggest economic development project the state has secured. The battery plant is central to Hyundai's electric vehicle plans and to meeting US content rules tied to federal tax credits.

A prolonged interruption could affect suppliers as well as the construction schedule. Hyundai said it was cooperating with authorities and reviewing contractor compliance. LG Energy Solution suspended certain travel and told employees visiting under short visit arrangements not to report to work.

Construction was expected to restart as companies adjusted staffing and compliance procedures, while the adjacent vehicle operation continued. The companies still needed to determine how to bring back any specialists whose skills remained necessary.

Business advocates in Seoul described disappointment and anger among Korean executives. Some also said the alliance remained resilient and confidence could recover with clear rules. Investors want predictable, timely permission for field engineers to install and certify machinery before passing responsibility to permanent American teams.

Industry groups warned that uncertainty could increase costs, slow factory openings and complicate the transfer of production knowledge. A targeted route for temporary technical work, business leaders argued, would reduce reliance on contractors using travel categories that do not permit the assigned tasks.

Workers and families face the immediate cost

Images of workers in restraints being escorted onto buses caused particular anger in South Korea. Many viewers regarded the scenes as humiliating. A national poll found that a majority of respondents considered the enforcement measures excessive, while a smaller share regarded the crackdown as inevitable.

Families struggled to contact detained relatives. Legal representatives described conditions at a Georgia processing center as crowded and unpleasant. A worker interviewed about the raid described panic as arrests began and some people tried to flee on foot.

Opposition lawmakers questioned the treatment of Korean citizens and demanded reciprocal scrutiny of visa compliance. Some proposed investigations into whether Americans in South Korea were working without proper authorization.

Senior South Korean diplomats pressed Washington to prevent similarly forceful scenes in future operations involving Korean citizens and companies. The foreign ministry said enforcement should proceed while protecting people's rights and dignity.

The political pressure reached beyond the return flight. Workers needed clarity about their ability to travel again, families wanted them safely home, and companies needed to know whether essential installation teams could return without facing another sudden interruption.

Why the form of departure matters

Voluntary departure allows a person, with approval from an immigration judge or the Department of Homeland Security, to leave at their own expense by a specified date. Completing that process properly can avoid certain restrictions connected to a formal removal order.

Deportation can bring bans on returning for a period of years. Time spent unlawfully in the United States can produce additional penalties, and unauthorized employment can affect eligibility for another visa. Each worker's position depends on individual circumstances, including earlier immigration status and length of stay.

US and South Korean officials discussed having workers depart quickly and then apply for appropriate status if their companies still needed their skills. Seoul asked that cooperation with voluntary departure should not disadvantage them during later business travel. Legal experts said overstays or unauthorized work could still complicate applications, although careful preparation and clear sponsorship could help in some visa categories.

The broader enforcement investigation continued. US authorities accused contractors of unlawful hiring, while companies maintained that temporary specialists were installing machinery and training local employees. Any charges would follow further examination of documents seized under the warrant.

The next few months were expected to test whether the governments could establish a predictable process for necessary specialists while American teams developed the required experience. Business groups warned that continued uncertainty would mean slower schedules, higher costs and disruption across the electric vehicle supply chain.

What to Know

• Federal agents detained 475 people at the Hyundai and LG Energy Solution battery site in Ellabell, Georgia, during Operation Low Voltage.
• Roughly 300 detainees were initially identified as South Korean; Seoul later said 316 citizens would board a chartered flight home.
• The operation involved more than 400 officers and followed an investigation lasting months into immigration violations and unlawful employment.
• Battery plant construction paused, while Hyundai said vehicle production at the neighboring facility continued.
• Hyundai said none of those arrested were its direct employees. LG Energy Solution said its employees and workers from partner contractors were detained.
• Seoul negotiated releases, requested transport without restraints and sought voluntary departure to reduce consequences for future travel.
• Lee Jae Myung sought clearer visa routes, sufficient quotas or a new category for specialists supporting US investment projects.
• Trump welcomed legal entry by skilled personnel and called on foreign investors to hire and train American workers.
• The Georgia vehicle and battery complex represents more than $12 billion in investment.
• Individual immigration cases and the contractor investigation remained unresolved as both governments discussed ways to resume technical work legally.