South Korea's government has reached a deal with the US to bring its citizens, who were detained in a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia, back home.
The chief of staff of South Korea's president, Kang Hoon-sik, said a chartered plane would be sent to bring the detainees home if administration procedures were completed.
In a Thursday raid, US officials detained 475 people, out of which 300 were South Korean nationals, citing the arrest reason as illegally working at the battery facility.
Media in both countries have confirmed that South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is expected to travel to the United States on Monday.
The White House has defended the operation at Hyundai, dismissing concerns that the raid could affect foreign investment.
An employee at the plant shared with the BBC that the majority of the workers detained were mechanics installing production lines at the site and were employed by a contractor.
Similar immigration raids are likely to take place more often, Trump administration border tsar Tom Homan shared on Sunday.
"No one hires an illegal alien out of the goodness of their heart. They hire them because they can work them harder, pay them less, undercut the competition that hires US citizen employees," he noted.
South Korea, a close US ally, has pledged tens of billions of dollars in American manufacturing investment, partly to offset tariffs.
The timing of the raid, as the two governments engage in sensitive trade talks, has raised concern in Seoul.
Trump has actively encouraged major investments from other countries while also tightening visa allocations for foreign companies.
LG Energy Solution, which operates the plant with Hyundai, revealed that many of the LG employees arrested were on business trips with various visas or under a visa waiver programme.
The car manufacturer in Ellabell, Georgia is a massive complex that has been a major source of employment since the project was announced in 2022.