South Korean workers hunker down in Georgia as US raid on Hyundai deepens anxiety

Ken Shim, president of Woowon Technology, said he had to provide paid time off to ease the stress of South Korean engineers installing equipment at a cell plant being built by Hyundai Motor and South Korea’s SK On near Cartersville, Georgia.

Shim, an American citizen who has lived in the United States for more than a decade, stressed that his employees are all working legally – they have visas that allow for limited business activity such as training local hires and setting up equipment.

But Hyundai and LG Energy Solution also thought workers and subcontractors at their plant outside the city of Savannah on similar visas were complying with the law. Yet on September 4, they were shackled and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

“They stopped going to work. Everybody right now is staying in their hotels or houses,” Shim said in an interview. “I told my people – don’t worry about it, take it as a one-week holiday. Go shopping, you guys work hard.”

SK has advised some visa holders to avoid coming to US work sites until there is more clarity around their legal status, Shim said. His workers in Georgia are hunkered down, citing rumours of immigration agents questioning people at Walmart and H Mart, a grocery chain that specialises in Asian foods. He understood their worries and advised everyone to carry their visa and passport documents with them.