A senior US diplomat, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, has openly regretted the confinement of South Korean workers at the Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia, referring to the event as deeply regrettable and even suggesting that it could be a turning point in a better handling of foreign labor.
South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo in his reply, asked the US to be more specific, to take the following steps, such as creating a new visa category for Korean professionals that would better meet their needs. Seoul also asked for more detailed visa rules to avoid future confusion and to help workers who, by their work, enable foreign large-scale investments.
Landau stressed that President Donald Trump is very concerned about the matter and that workers who were sent back to South Korea will be provided with no difficulties in the re-entry to the US. Both parties consented to the holding of working-level talks to reach an agreement on visa policies that suit Korean companies and their employees, especially in the case of critical industries such as electric vehicle batteries.
