Will Korean Detainees Experience Reentry Issues in the US?

Seoul, Sep 11 (NationPress) South Korea has received assurances from the United States that its citizens detained in Georgia will have no reentry issues during future visits to the US, stated Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. A chartered flight is scheduled to repatriate them a week after their arrests during a US immigration operation.

After discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Cho informed reporters that both nations confirmed that the detainees will not be physically restrained en route to the Atlanta airport to catch their chartered flight home.

"We have secured assurances that they will face no problems reentering the United States in the future to work," Cho said during a press briefing.

"We've agreed to ensure our detained citizens can return home tomorrow via a chartered flight without any restraints like handcuffs during the process," he added.

Cho traveled to Washington earlier this week to address the mass detention of over 300 South Koreans apprehended by US immigration authorities last Thursday at an electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia, according to reports from Yonhap news agency.

Seoul and Washington reached a consensus to release the detained individuals from the facilities in Folkston, and they were originally scheduled to board a flight home on Wednesday afternoon. However, the plan was postponed due to unspecified US circumstances.

Potential disagreements over the method of transporting the detainees to the airport, including the possibility of handcuffing them during transit, were cited as reasons for the delay.

During their discussions, Rubio informed Cho that the delay was primarily caused by President Donald Trump's directive to his officials to encourage the Koreans to remain in the country for continued work. This request temporarily halted the departure process to ascertain whether the detained nationals, all skilled workers, wished to return home or stay in the US.

"The issue of handcuffing was not the cause of the delay, even though it was not resolved at that time," the official added.

Cho emphasized to Rubio that the detainees are extremely shocked and exhausted, suggesting that it would be better for them to return home first and then come back to the US later.

Trump's comments imply that Korean nationals will not face disadvantages when reentering the US, and South Korea interprets this as confirmation that no illegal stay records will be maintained, treating their return as a voluntary departure.

The official also pointed out that the government believes the detainees acted within the limits of their visas and did not acknowledge any overstaying in the US.

The official stated that Trump ordered that the detainees be transported to the airport without handcuffs, as strongly requested by Seoul, reflecting the strong bond between Trump and President Lee Jae Myung.

The aircraft is scheduled to depart from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Thursday at noon, with the workers expected to start traveling to the airport from the detention facilities around 2 a.m.

Cho also mentioned discussions with Rubio about establishing a working group to enhance visa systems for South Korean businesses, including creating a new visa category to better facilitate their trips and operations in the US.

"More importantly, we talked about introducing a visa category that suits our long-term investments and ensures no inconveniences for our businesses visiting and operating in the US," he stated.

"To achieve this, the State Department and our foreign ministry will collaborate to establish a working group for new visas, and we've agreed to continue talks in this regard swiftly," Cho added.

A total of 330 individuals—316 Koreans and 14 foreign nationals—will be on the chartered flight, as reported by a ministry official. One South Korean has opted to stay.

The foreign nationals consist of 10 Chinese, three Japanese, and one Indonesian, with the majority being men, and only 10 being women.