September 12, 2025
SEOUL – President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday expressed concerns that a recent US immigration raid on a Hyundai-LG electric vehicle battery plant construction site in Georgia could make South Korean companies hesitant to invest in the US.
The raid, which detained more than 300 South Korean nationals, could have a “considerable impact” on South Korea’s investment in the US due to uncertainty over business operations, Lee said at a news conference marking his 100th day in office.
“South Korean firms doing business in the US must be left baffled now,” said the 60-year-old president, who took office June 4.
Lee said the detained workers had little choice but to enter the country on B-1 visas or through visa waivers for temporary business visits, and that similar issues will persist unless the US eases visa complexities and expands quotas for temporary workers.
“A factory needs technicians to install mechanical equipment, but they are not permanent hires,” he said. “No US technicians could do that work. Our workers train local staff and then return home. If that’s impossible, South Korean companies will ask themselves whether they should continue building plants in the US while fearing (possible) disadvantages and challenges.”
Lee added that the raid would “probably have a considerable impact” on direct investment in the US and could make South Korean firms hesitate before making business decisions there.
According to Lee, 316 South Korean nationals and 14 non-Koreans were leaving the detention center on Thursday to return to South Korea on Friday.
The remarks came amid Foreign Minister Cho Hyun’s announcement Wednesday that Seoul and Washington had agreed to establish a working group for ways to create a new type of visa for South Koreans to prevent such cases from repeating.
Lee revealed that the White House ordered a pause in the process of releasing the detainees amid negotiations over whether they should remain handcuffed while being transported from the detention center to a US airport. There were also administrative differences over procedures to allow detainees to depart the US “of their free will” or via “deportation.”
Lee also said that there seemed to be “cultural differences” between the two countries, referring to US citizens teaching English in South Korea on tourist visas.
“Americans would come in as tourists and teach English at language institutes,” the president said. “We tend to think, ‘That’s fine.’ But over there, it seems they think, ‘Absolutely not.’ On top of that, immigration policies strictly prohibit illegal employment, so they are deporting people in extreme and harsh ways.”
Teaching English without a relevant visa is illegal in South Korea, and typically results in fines, exit orders and re-entry bans.
Later in the news conference, Lee said follow-up steps on a recent trade deal to cut tariffs on most South Korean goods from 25 percent to 15 percent in exchange for major investments would not include any decision deemed unreasonable, unfair or against South Korean national interests. He also asserted he does not make any under-the-table deals.
The news conference at the former presidential compound Cheong Wa Dae was attended by over 150 journalists from home and abroad. It was the second of its kind since Lee’s inauguration, following the political turmoil in the wake of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s apparent self-coup attempt.
As to ways to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula, Lee said that the restoration of ties between North Korea and the US is key, adding that South Korea’s role would instead be to lay the groundwork for Washington and Pyongyang to get along, rather than spearheading the peace process.
“I don’t think we should take the lead in undertaking (the peace process on the Korean Peninsula) or insist that the process must be within our own boundary,” Lee said, adding that ties between the two Koreas turned sour due to former President Yoon’s show of hostility, and that the inter-Korean detente remains to be a tall order despite Seoul’s conciliatory gestures for de-escalation.
“That’s why I said I would be a pacemaker (for US President Donald Trump),” Lee said. “Trump will help secure the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula … and excel in his role as a peacemaker.”
Regarding Shigeru Ishiba’s departure as Japan’s prime minister and the upcoming election to fill the post, Lee said that his administration would “open our hearts and minds while leaving room for talks for cooperation,” adding that South Korea and Japan, which have long been at odds over past historical issues and territory, need to cooperate as neighbors for the stabilization of Northeast Asia. He also said that historical or territorial issues should not be ignored. Lee and Ishiba have officially met twice since Lee took office.
On the domestic front, Lee said he was open to retracting the controversial proposal to widen the scope of taxation on an individual’s sale of securities from those holding shares worth 5 billion won ($3.6 million) or more in a single company to those with shares worth at least 1 billion won.
Concerning ongoing controversy that the ruling bloc’s push to set up a special tribunal to handle crimes related to the insurrection — in the wake of Yoon’s martial law imposition in December — could erode the principles of the separation of powers in South Korea, Lee said the tribunal’s establishment could not be deemed unconstitutional.
Lee added that South Korea’s legislative body is rather “subordinated by the judicial power,” refuting claims that the ruling party-dominated National Assembly is attempting to place the judicial branch under the control of the legislative branch.
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