South Koreans Detained in Georgia Unable to Return on 10th... Foreign Ministry Says "Consultations Ongoing" (Update)

South Korean workers detained in Georgia, United States, were initially expected to return home on a chartered flight on the 10th (local time), but the schedule has been postponed.

On the 9th (local time), employees at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution battery plant construction site who were arrested by U.S. immigration authorities are held at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Folkston, Georgia. 2025.9.10 Yonhap News Agency

On the 10th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced through a press briefing, "Our citizens detained in Georgia will not be able to depart on the 10th local time due to circumstances on the U.S. side," adding, "We are maintaining consultations with the U.S. authorities to enable their departure as soon as possible."

As a result, the plan for the workers to return home via Incheon International Airport on the evening of the 11th has also been postponed indefinitely. More than 300 South Koreans who were arrested in the United States on the 4th were initially expected to be released early on the morning of the 10th, but as the repatriation schedule has been delayed, their detention period is also expected to be extended.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide further details regarding the "circumstances on the U.S. side." A meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun, who is currently visiting Washington, D.C. to manage the situation, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to take place on the 9th local time, but has been postponed by a day to the 10th. The delay in high-level consultations between South Korea and the United States to resolve issues such as the manner of departure for the detainees and the deletion of detention records also appears to have contributed to the postponement.

Earlier, a Korean Air chartered flight intended to transport the detained South Korean workers had already departed from Incheon International Airport on the morning of the same day, heading to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia.