PM says US investment projects difficult without resolving visa issue: report

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has said carrying out investment projects in the United States will be "virtually impossible" before resolving the issue of visas for South Korean workers, Bloomberg reported Thursday. In an interview with the outlet, the prime minister spoke to the recent detention of hundreds of South Korean workers at a battery plant under construction in the U.S. state of Georgia, which unnerved the Asian ally ahead of its planned investment of an additional $350 billion in the U.S. "Without resolving the visa issue, meaningful progress remains virtually impossible," he was quoted as saying by the outlet. "Although the projects have not been entirely halted or formally placed on hold, it will be very difficult for a large number of workers to enter or reenter the U.S. until this problem is resolved." Kim echoed the comments of President Lee Jae Myung in a recent interview with Reuters, saying executing the $350 investment pledge, which was made in exchange for Washington's lowering of "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korea from 25 percent to 15 percent, will inflict a shockWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times