When a large-scale detention of Korean workers occurred in the U.S. state of Georgia, major corporations in Korea began internal checks to see if there were any issues with conducting business locally while avoiding travel to the U.S. On the 4th (local time), U.S. immigration authorities raided the Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution joint battery plant construction site in Georgia, detaining over 300 Koreans.
According to the industry on the 8th, Kim Gi-soo, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHO) of LG Energy Solution, departed for Georgia on the morning of the 7th to respond on-site. Employees have suspended all business trips to the U.S. except for customer meetings, and those currently on trips are returning immediately and waiting at their accommodations, taking work status into account.
The battery industry, which is also building new plants in the U.S. similar to LG Energy Solution, is checking travel personnel, plans, and visa issues. SK On is building a joint factory in Georgia with Hyundai Motor Group aiming for operations in the first half of next year, and Samsung SDI is preparing for operations of a second factory in joint venture with Stellantis in Indiana.
SK On and Samsung SDI have determined that there are no visa issues and are not implementing separate travel bans or return measures. However, a consensus is forming that if short-term business visas (B1/B2) are issued, the purposes of the trip or scope of work must be clearly defined.
Most corporations that have invested in the U.S. and built factories have dispatched personnel through short-term business visas or the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which exempts visas for 90-day short visits and tourism. This is because the issuance period for work visas, such as resident visas and specialty occupation visas, is long and complex, and rejections often occur.
Hyundai Motor Group has decided to postpone business trips to the U.S. for the time being and will begin investigations into the employment status of its local partners. Hyundai has advised that if the trips are not essential, they should be reconsidered and only urgent or essential business trips will be allowed.
The semiconductor and electronics industry has also begun internal checks. SK hynix is in the stage of preparing to start construction on a semiconductor packaging plant in Indiana, and although large-scale personnel dispatch has not yet occurred, they are considering various methods to inform employees about visa issuance.
Samsung Electronics, which is building a foundry plant in Texas, determined that there are no issues with the visas or residency statuses of local employees. In May, Samsung Electronics notified employees about precautions for visa issuance in its corporate travel system. As cases of entry denial due to improper scheduling during trips using ESTA are increasing, they urged adherence to the two-week stay limit.
Although LG Electronics' manufacturing plant in Tennessee and others are operating normally, similar to LG Energy Solution, they provided instructions for returning employees or those waiting in accommodations who are traveling to the U.S. Food and beauty companies like CJ CheilJedang, which operate factories in the U.S., also checked their local workforce.
The government held an emergency meeting with investment corporations, including Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution, target of the crackdown, to discuss visa system checks. They confirmed the status of local personnel operations related to U.S. investment projects and collected feedback on securing visas.
The government plans to negotiate with the U.S. side on new visa regulations and flexible operations of the existing system based on industry opinions.