"Unfair infringement of citizens' rights and interests and the economic activities of US-investing companies must not be tolerated." The government holds an emergency meeting.

Cho Hyun:"Over 300 of the 475 detainees are Korean... I will personally visit the US if necessary."

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Kim Ji-yeon and Ko Dong-wook = President Lee Jae-myung instructed,"Respond with all possible force to quickly resolve the issue, focusing on the U.S. Embassy in the U.S. and the Consulate General in Atlanta," regarding the "mass detention of Koreans" by U.S. immigration authorities.

The president emphasized that “the rights and interests of our citizens and the economic activities of companies investing in the U.S. should not be unfairly infringed upon in the course of U.S. law enforcement,” and gave this instruction, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reported at a joint meeting of the headquarters and embassies of the Overseas Koreans Protection Headquarters held at the Government Complex Seoul on the 6th.

The president is said to be monitoring the situation, including receiving reports from Minister Cho immediately after the incident became known.

Minister Cho said that U.S. immigration authorities detained 475 people during a raid at the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution plant in Georgia, including over 300 of our citizens.

He said,"I am very concerned and feel a great sense of responsibility for the arrests of citizens."

Minister Cho explained that, considering the importance of the matter, he had established the Headquarters for Overseas Citizens Protection, with himself as its head, and that the headquarters and overseas missions had held meetings to quickly share relevant trends and review countermeasures.

Accordingly, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jin-ah conveyed her concerns and regrets to Joseph Yoon, the Acting U.S. Ambassador to Korea, the previous day, and asked him to take special care to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of our citizens are not violated.

Minister Cho said,"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will closely communicate with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, economic organizations, and other businesses to respond comprehensively," and asked the Korean Embassy in the U.S. and the Consulate General in Atlanta to continue communicating with local authorities to provide consular assistance promptly.

He continued,"We plan to discuss ways to quickly dispatch high-level officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters to the scene, and if necessary, I will go to Washington myself to consult with the U.S. administration."

In the local area, the current head of the division is the Consul General of the US Embassy in Jogi-jung.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Minister Cho instructed at the meeting to actively consider strengthening personnel, including dispatching a rapid response team.

This meeting was urgently convened in response to the incident in which the U.S. authorities arrested 475 Koreans and other individuals during a crackdown on illegal stays at a local factory construction site of our company. The meeting was attended by First Vice Minister Park Yoon-joo, Second Vice Minister Kim Jin-ah, relevant department heads and bureau chiefs, including the government representative for overseas national protection and consular affairs, and officials from the U.S. Embassy in the U.S. and the Consulate General in Atlanta.

On the 4th (local time), U.S. immigration authorities conducted a large-scale crackdown on illegal immigrants at the construction site of the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant (HL-GA Battery Company) in Savannah, Georgia, arresting and detaining 475 people, including about 300 Koreans.