The work stopped temporarily on Hyundai in the United States after the arrest of hundreds of workers in Raid

Hundreds of workers were held at the Hyundai Motor facility that was built in Georgia in a major raid by the American authorities, forcing to stop building a car battery factory, which is part of a major investment in the state by the Korean auto industry.

On Thursday, the raid dealt with a setback to a project that is scheduled to start working at the end of the year, and highlights an increasing campaign by the Trump administration on immigrants and its sabotage impact on companies, even with the White House attempt to stimulate more flows from foreign investors.

The arrests also threaten the relationship between Washington and Seoul, a major ally and investor in the United States. The two countries were opposed with the details of the commercial deal, which includes $ 350 billion of investments.

Only last month, South Korea pledged $ 150 billion in US investments, including 26 billion dollars from the United States from Hyundai Motor, at the top of the two.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said that “many of our citizens” were detained during the operation by the American immigration authorities, and expressed concern about its influence.

“The economic activities of our companies that invest in the United States and the interests of our citizens should not be violated in an unnecessary way during the application of American law,” the ministry spokesman Lee Wong said in a statement on Friday.

DHS agent (DHS) said that many American agencies “conducted a judicially accredited enforcement process, because we are conducting an activity in illegal employment practices.”

“The arrests are performed,” Stephen Sheeranik, a special agent responsible for the internal security investigations of Georgia, told a press conference broadcast on American television.

The ATF ATF office of the Atlanta Agency said that up to 450 people were held in a post on X.

A government official in South Korea said they were held in the United States for Migration and Customs detention facility (ICE).

The Economic newspaper Korea later reported about 560 workers at the Hyundai Motor Facility and LG energy solution (LGES) was detained, cited by unidentified industrial sources. About 300 South Korean citizens, according to local media reports.

A spokesman for Hyundai-Ga Battery Company said in a statement that she was fully cooperating and that she had stopped construction work. The facility, a joint venture between LGES LGES and Hyundai Motor, was scheduled to start and start operations at the end of this year, according to LGES.

Hyundai Motor said its production of electric cars on the sprawling site was not affected.

“It is closely cooperating with the South Korean government and relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our employees and employees in contractors, and to ensure its rapid release of detention,” LG Energy Solution said in a statement.

LGES 2.3 shares decreased.

The largest investment in Georgia

In 2023, the Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Group announced the $ 4.3 billion project to produce EV battery cells, where each company owns 50 percent share. The factory will provide batteries for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models.

The battery factory is part of the $ 12.6 billion Hyundai investments in the state, including the automotive factory that has just opened in the automotive industry, while it will be “the largest economic development project, opens a new tab in the state’s history.”

Video footage on social media showed a man wearing a jacket with HSI letters, an abbreviation of the security investigations of the homeland, and I told the workers in the yellow safety jackets: “We have an inspection note for the entire site. We need to stop immediately. We need all work on the site now.”

During the era of President Donald Trump, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Internal Security, has become the driving force to suppress the full Republican leader on immigrants, supported by record funding and new written lines in conducting raids.

Trump said he wanted to deport “the worst worst criminals”, but ice characters showed a rise in non -criminals who were captured. The defenders of rights condemned such raids.