The governor of the U.S. state of Georgia is coming to Korea to meet senior officials of Hyundai Motor Group. It appears to be an effort to manage the fallout from a large-scale federal immigration raid that took place earlier this month at a Hyundai Motor Group construction site in the state.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) on the 21st local time, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will soon visit Korea to meet with Hyundai Motor officials. The governor's office sent an email to Hyundai Motor on the 8th, four days after the raid, saying, "The governor will soon visit Korea and requests a meeting." The email stressed that "Hyundai Motor is an important investor and partner of Georgia."
On the 4th, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the construction site of the Hyundai Motor Group–LG Energy Solution battery joint plant in Ellabell near Savannah, Georgia. The raid led to the arrests of 475 workers, including 317 Koreans.
The governor's office told the AJC that "the visit to Korea itself had been under discussion even before the ICE raid." However, the AJC reported, citing emails it obtained, that Kemp rushed to schedule a meeting with Hyundai Motor once the raid occurred. It is seen as an attempt to personally manage the incident, which has escalated into a large-scale detention of Koreans.
This will be Kemp's third visit to Korea during his term. But the AJC assessed that the atmosphere is markedly different from previous visits. Georgia is now looking for ways to resolve a pileup of difficult issues, including how to redeploy workers to the Hyundai Motor Group plant construction site and how to calm public opinion in Korea that has soured over this incident.
Kemp blamed the Trump administration's handling of the visa system for the incident. On the 16th, he said, "This incident is not a problem limited to Hyundai Motor," and added, "The U.S. visa system needs a comprehensive review." He continued, "We are discussing the current visa issues with the White House."
The Georgia business community has continued to voice concern since the large-scale raid. Trip Tollison, head of the Savannah Economic Development Authority and a member of the delegation to Korea, told local media, "We rely on Koreans, and we want them to return in line with the plant's operating schedule." He said, "This visit will also serve as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Georgia and Hyundai Motor."
Kemp's specific schedule for the Korea trip has not yet been disclosed. However, there is speculation that he may visit Korea before or after attending an international conference in Japan at the end of Oct.