South Korean Foreign Minister 8 rushed to the United States to coordinate the United States detained more than 300 South Korean citizens. They were arrested after federal law enforcement agents raided a battery joint venture between Hyundai and LG New Energy in Georgia and accused of working illegally in the US. South Korea and the United States have reached a basic agreement on the release of the detainees, who are expected to return to South Korea on a Chartered Flight Monday, Yonhap news agency reported. Although US President Donald Trump said the incident would not affect us-south Korean relations, at home, the media lambasted the US for “Stabbing in the back” and “Hitting the stick”, it points out that while the Korean political and business circles respond positively to the U. S. policy of attracting foreign investment, they are faced with unpredictable system and law enforcement risks. Bloomberg said the incident sparked a strong reaction. Construction of the Georgia plant raided has been suspended. South Korean media said on the 8th, LG New Energy has postponed the Georgia plant production plans, Hyundai Motor banned employees to the United States.
South Korean people held a rally in Seoul on the evening of 8, condemned the U. S. detention of South Korean citizens. Visual China
South Korean media lashes out at US ‘Perfidy’
A number of mainstream South Korean media used editorials to express strong protest against the United States. The The Hankyoreh noted that the incident occurred just over a month after South Korea committed $350BN to the US, less than 10 days after South Korean president Lee Jae-Myung Jong-eun and US President Donald Trump jong-eun met at the White House for a summit to reiterate that the “Korea-us alliance is as solid as a rock”, “I feel like I’ve been hit in the back of the head”, this has shaken the foundations of trust in the alliance. “Chosun Ilbo” questioned the United States said that the“Alliance” exactly what it means, the United States said the fundamental doubts about the stability of the system and policy sustainability.
Joongang Ilbo believes that Georgia is a“Core area of the Korea-us Manufacturing Alliance” with intensive investment by South Korean enterprises, hyundai, SK, Hanwha, Doosan, Hantai Tire and other companies in the layout of batteries, cars, PV and logistics plants here, is seen as a symbolic platform for korea-us cooperation. The images of South Korean employees being shackled and escorted one by one were shocking, with the US“Treating our partners with public humiliation”. “East Asia Daily” pointed out that the United States on the grounds of suspected illegal detention and work, the use of helicopters, military vehicles to carry out arrest operations. The facilities where South Korean citizens are detained have been identified by the U.S. government as having serious health problems, including mold, pests, and faulty toilets, which do not guarantee basic humanitarian conditions.
The US media are also assessing the impact of the incident. Tammy Overby, a former head of the U.S.-KOREA Business Committee at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and an international business consultant, said it was certain that the raid had sent tremors across the Pacific, the New York Times said. “When I was talking to friends last night, someone said, ‘we’re getting conflicting information from the U.S. government: You Want Our Money, but you don’t want us, ‘” Overby said, “It has a chilling effect on the boards of all Asian companies.” Experts on South korea-us Relations said the raid could have devastating consequences, undermining trust and stoking resentment between the two countries. “A surprise inspection of a Korean American factory — that’s not the way to treat foreign investment,” said Mark Kim, director of the Institute
“I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the back,” V (singer) , head of the political science department at Soongsil University in South Korea, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg on Thursday, “Most South Koreans can’t help but feel angry,” he says. Inevitably, South Korean companies will be reluctant to press ahead with US investment plans.
Donald Trump: in return, we ask you to hire and train American workers
Asked about the incident at a press conference on the 7th, Donald Trump said, “What happened in Georgia is very interesting.”, “Ice [ the US U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ] was taking legitimate measures because they were here illegally,” he said, when asked if the incident would affect us-south Korean relations, “No… We have a very, very good relationship with the Koreans,” Donald Trump responded, “And you know what? We just reached a trade agreement.”
Shortly after the press conference, “In the wake of the immigration enforcement action at the Georgia modern battery plant, I hereby appeal to all foreign companies investing in the United States to respect our immigration laws,” Donald Trump wrote on the social media platform. We welcome your investment and encourage you to legally bring in your very smart, highly skilled people to build world-class products, and we will quickly and legally provide you with the means to do so. In return, we ask you to hire and train American workers.”
The incident is widely seen in South Korean business and government circles as exposing a policy mismatch between encouraging the return of manufacturing and enforcing immigration policies. Korean media pointed out that the current U. S. strict control of H-1b and other work visa quota, high threshold for verification, long cycle, is not enough to meet the initial on-site production of overseas enterprises to the immediate demand for technical backbone. In reality, many companies have to rely on ESTA (visa-free) or B1(short-term commercial) visas for urgent tasks, and such operations are now at risk of full liquidation.
A South Korean business person told a special correspondent of the Global Times that, “If you don’t bring in skilled people at the construction stage, you can’t move the project forward. “It is not reasonable for the US to rush investment, impose visa barriers and suddenly arrest people,” the newspaper said, there is a shortage of skilled workers in the U.S. labor market, especially in the field of new-energy vehicle batteries. Korean companies need to deploy engineers with specific process experience to conduct technical guidance and preliminary debugging in a short period of time, this is the inevitable reality of industrial landing. However, the current US visa system and law enforcement standards on the“High Wall”, will make companies in the technology delivery and compliance between the operation under greater pressure.
South Korean firms assess plans to invest in us
The South Korean government held an emergency seminar with companies that are promoting investment projects in the United States on August 8 to examine the visa-related system for business trips to the United States. Bloomberg said the raid cast a pall over South Korea’s $zero investment plans. The detention of workers linked to South Korea’s flagship investment is likely to be seen by companies as a sign that the political and compliance risks of moving ahead with projects in the US are higher than expected.
Korean media pointed out that a number of companies have asked to travel to the United States staff on standby or stop travel, and start investment plans and employment arrangements to re-evaluate. “South Korea economy” commentary, “Georgia is not an exception, but an early warning. Joongang Ilbo called on both sides to establish a more comprehensive system, including a visa system, a habeas corpus mechanism and a communication mechanism, avoid similar events in the semiconductor, shipbuilding, photovoltaic and other areas of“Thunder.”. A senior South Korean presidential office official said that while negotiations had been quickly completed to ensure the safe return of the nationals involved, “More important is the establishment of a mechanism to prevent repetition.”.