Seoul: The government has initiated an interagency task force aimed at assisting South Korean companies in navigating the U.S. visa system more effectively, following the recent detention and subsequent release of over 300 South Koreans during a U.S. immigration raid, as reported by the foreign ministry.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the task force will involve collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, among others. The group will gather input from various industries regarding challenges faced when traveling to the United States for work and will develop strategies to address these issues.

Key South Korean business organizations, such as the Federation of Korean Industries, will participate in the task force. This initiative comes in response to increasing demands for improved visa guidelines for South Korean companies executing large-scale manufacturing projects in the U.S., following the mass detention which highlighted uncertainties in U.S. visa policy standards.

The detainees were largely individuals working in the U.S. on short-term business or recreational visas. Companies have expressed concerns that the lengthy visa application process and ambiguous U.S. visa policies hinder their operational capabilities in the country.

Officials from the task force plan to propose reforms to the U.S. based on their findings and conclusions.