Four Hispanic individuals were identified as targets, with many Koreans arrested at the scene.

The search target was a battery factory construction site… All management, personnel, and financial data were seized.

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hong Jeong-gyu = The largest-ever single-site crackdown conducted by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution plant in Georgia was found to have focused on allegations of illegal employment, harboring, and protecting immigrants.

According to the search and seizure warrant obtained on the 5th (local time), HSI listed “unlawful employment of aliens,” “concealing, harboring, or shielding aliens,” and “conspiracy” in relation to these as “target crimes.”

HSI's crackdown appears to be motivated by the hiring and sheltering of individuals who had illegally crossed the U.S. border or overstayed their work visas, and the concealment of this from authorities.

It also proposed that all records related to the"target area where such acts occurred and occurring after March 1, 2025" be seized.

The Target Premises is the construction site of a lithium battery manufacturing plant within the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) campus, and is 35 acres (approximately 140,000 m2, 43,000 pyeong) in size, including the main building, annexes, and related sites.

HSI attached photos of the"target area" from multiple angles to the warrant, suggesting that they had been investigating this raid for a long time.

The warrant listed four"targets," none of whom were Korean. They consisted of three men and one woman, and judging by their names and other details, they appear to be illegal immigrants of Hispanic descent from Central or South America.

It is believed that a crackdown on these individuals, led by a tip-off about their illegal employment, resulted in a large number of arrests of Korean nationals. HSI announced that 475 people were arrested on the scene, many of whom were Korean nationals, totaling approximately 300.

HSI seized data not only from the factory headquarters but also from contractors, construction companies, subcontractors, and staffing agencies.

It stated that all documents and records related to the ownership and management of these companies, records of employment of current and former employees, information on working hours, salaries, and accounts, records of recruitment and hiring of employees, records of communication related to employment and concealment of foreigners, and records of payment of salaries, housing, and transportation expenses, as well as electronic devices such as computers where such information is stored, would be seized.

It was revealed that the warrant was issued by a judge on the 31st of last month.