South Korea outraged at 300 workers treated as ‘prisoners of war’ in US raid

As Hyundai-LG workers fly home after visa ordeal, Koreans bristle at ‘humiliation’ and sense of betrayal by Seoul’s ally

More than 300 South Korean workers arrived at Incheon international airport on Friday afternoon, ending a week-long ordeal that began with the US Department of Homeland Security’s largest ever single-site raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and has left South Korea questioning whether it can trust its closest ally.

The 316 Koreans, along with 14 workers of other nationalities, landed shortly after 3pm local time on a chartered Korean Air flight after being detained since 4 September at a Hyundai-LG battery plant construction site in Georgia.