According to BBC, the plant is part of one of the largest foreign investment projects in Georgia, raising concerns about the ability of foreign companies to bring in necessary specialists to the US. This development comes just two weeks after Seoul announced plans to invest billions of dollars in the US to bolster production of car batteries and similar products.

The White House has defended the operation, emphasizing the need to protect American jobs. In a post on Truth Social, former President Trump assured that the US would facilitate legal entry for foreign technical talent but urged these companies to also hire and train American workers.

Prior to his departure to the US, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun briefed the South Korean parliament's foreign affairs committee, acknowledging the challenges in obtaining US work visas and expressing his commitment to finding a swift resolution. Hyun aims to ensure the detained workers can return voluntarily rather than face deportation.

The detained workers are currently held at an ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia. A video released by ICE officials showed Asian workers shackled outside a building, some wearing yellow vests with "Hyundai" and "LG CNS" labels. ICE stated that the raid was necessary to safeguard American employment, noting that individuals on short-term or recreational visas are not authorized to work in the US.

LG Energy Solution, in partnership with Hyundai, operates the plant and reported that many of the detained LG employees were on business trips with various visas or under a visa waiver program. The company disclosed that 47 of its employees and around 250 contractor workers were detained, prompting LG to suspend most business trips to the US and instruct US-based employees to return to South Korea immediately.

The incident has been described as a "shock" by South Korean media, with the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper cautioning that it could have "a chilling effect on the activities of our businesses in the United States." The electric vehicle factory had been promoted by Georgia's Republican governor as the largest economic development project in the state's history, projected to employ 1,200 people.