‘I’m just really happy to be home’: S. Korean workers land in Seoul a week after detention in US
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The chartered plane carrying some 300 South Koreans landed at Incheon airport on Sept 12.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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INCHEON, South Korea - A total of 330 workers who were detained in a Sept 4 US immigration crackdown landed in Incheon International Airport at 3.30pm on Sept 12, returning home eight days after being taken into custody.
After a 15½-hour flight, the 316 South Korean and 14 foreign workers disembarked wearing masks, where they were greeted by government and company officials, including presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik.
Among those returning to the country, no health issues were found, including with one worker who was pregnant.
“I’m just really happy to be back home,” a male worker told The Korea Herald at the arrival gate of Terminal 2, Incheon airport.
“I just want to have a hot meal,” said another, when asked about the first thing he wanted to do. He said he stayed healthy and had no major health issues.
At an impromptu press conference, Mr Kang apologised to South Korean workers who had been detained in the US,
He also pledged to push forward improvements in the visa and residency status system.
“What may seem like the end of our work with the United States is, in fact, a new beginning. Going forward, the government will actively pursue improvements to the US visa issuance and residency system, including the creation of a new visa category mentioned by President (Donald) Trump,” he said.
“We will also look into providing psychological support to help those returning regain stability in their daily lives,” Mr Kang said.
The workers were released from a detention centre in Folkston, Georgia, early on Sept 11, local time, a week after their arrest in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at an electric vehicle battery plant construction site run by a Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint venture in Bryan County, Georgia.
After being released without handcuffs, as agreed by Seoul and Washington, they boarded a chartered Korean Air flight about 430km from the detention centre.
The release came a day later than initially planned as President Trump encouraged them to stay in the US and train American workers.
According to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, all South Korean workers were released from detention except one, who lives in the US with family.
The worker is reportedly seeking permanent residency, with family members who are all green card holders.
Deputy Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo told reporters at Incheon airport that the remaining South Korean intended to request bail through an attorney.
Others decided to return to South Korea in the form of “voluntary departure” rather than deportation.
Most of the detained South Korean workers were said to have been on B-1 temporary visitor visas or entered the US through a visa waiver programme.
Washington has pledged that the South Korean workers detained in the immigration raid last week will face no penalties if they seek to re-enter the US, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said on Sept 11.
Seoul and Washington also agreed to launch a joint working group on visa issues to avert a repeat of mass detention. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
