Charter flight carrying detained Korean workers expected to arrive in Seoul

Hundreds of Korean workers taken into custody in Georgia during a U.S. immigration raid are set to return home on Friday afternoon, bringing to a close a weeklong ordeal that has triggered fresh debate over visa rules and labor protections for Korean companies in America. A Korean Air charter flight carrying more than 300 passengers is due to land at Incheon International Airport between 3:30 and 4 p.m., according to government and company officials. The group includes 316 Koreans and 14 foreign nationals, including people from China, Japan and Indonesia, who were released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Folkston, Georgia. Most of the workers had been employed at a construction site for a Hyundai Motor Group-LG energy Solution battery plant, where U.S. authorities carried out an unexpected immigration sweep on Sept. 4. They were held for seven days before negotiations led to their release and repatriation. Deputy Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, who was dispatched earlier this week to oversee the process, is accompanying the workers on the flight bacWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times