As about 300 Korean workers employed at the construction site of the battery joint factory of Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution were arrested and detained by U.S. immigration authorities, some analysts say pressure from the Donald Trump administration to "hire Americans" is becoming visible. But with U.S. worker wages higher than in Korea and a severe shortage of local specialists, the burden on Korean corporations investing in the United States is growing.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the 9th, the median weekly wage for U.S. workers in the first quarter of this year was $1,194 (about 1.65 million won). On an annual basis, that is $62,088 (about 86.16 million won). By education level, the median weekly wage for high school graduates was $953 (about 1.32 million won), or $49,556 annually (about 68.7 million won), and for those with a bachelor's degree it was $1,603 (about 2.22 million won), or $83,356 annually (about 115.56 million won).
In Georgia, where the Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution battery joint factory at issue is located, the median weekly wage is $1,304 (1.8 million won), which comes to $67,808 annually (94 million won). Considering that Statistics Korea reported the average monthly wage for Korean wage workers as 3,128,000 won as of Aug. last year (37,536,000 won annually), wages for Georgia workers are 2.5 times higher than in Korea.
Even if higher wages are accepted, it is hard to find people to work. The Trump administration's tougher crackdown on immigrants has led to a shortage of construction labor. According to a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), 92% of construction firms said it is difficult to hire qualified workers. According to the Pew Research Center, immigrants account for about 20% of the U.S. labor force, and about 30% of construction workers are immigrants.
It is also not easy to hire the local specialists that President Trump is demanding. Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute warned that, due to a shortage of skilled workers in the United States, as many as 2.1 million manufacturing jobs may go unfilled by 2030.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) also noted in its "Future of Jobs Report 2025" that "in the U.S. manufacturing institutional sector alone, up to 3.8 million new workers may be needed by 2033, but nearly half of the jobs are at risk of going unfilled unless manufacturers make manufacturing more attractive and close the skills gap."
There is also concern that President Trump's mention of training U.S.-based battery specialists faces many hurdles before it can be realized. On the 7th (local time), President Trump said, "If there are no people in this country who know about batteries, we should bring in skilled people in that field, have them stay for a certain period, and train our people so they can produce directly."
If President Trump's remarks become reality, visa issues for Korean specialists going to the United States may be resolved. But it takes a long time to cultivate specialists, and there is no guarantee that those specialists will remain with the Korean corporations that trained them.
An industry official said, "What the U.S. government is ultimately demanding is to hire Americans, but with U.S. manufacturing hollowed out and large-scale plants such as battery factories located in outlying areas, it is hard to recruit specialists."
Another official said, "In the U.S. labor environment, where job mobility is easy, telling us to train Americans is little different from saying to transfer technology," adding, "Uncertainty over investment in the United States has increased."