A chartered plane carrying 316 Korean workers who had been arrested and detained by U.S. immigration authorities at the construction site of the Hyundai Motor Group–LG Energy Solution battery joint factory in Savannah, Georgia (HL-GA Battery Company) arrived at Incheon International Airport at about 3:23 p.m. on the 12th.
The 316 Korean workers who returned that day were arrested on the 4th (local time) in a large-scale operation by U.S. immigration authorities. After being held for about a week at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, they were released at about 1:20 a.m. on the 11th (local time).
The Korean workers were split among buses and moved to Atlanta, about four hours away. The Korean Air charter flight KE9036 carrying them took off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia at about 11:38 a.m. the same day and headed for Incheon Airport.
Fourteen foreign nationals were also on the Korean Air charter flight. Although a total of 317 Korean workers had been detained, one person whose family holds U.S. permanent residency and lives locally did not return and remained in the United States.