Photo credit: The Japan Times
Thhe Korean government has announced that talks with US authorities to release over 300 Korean workers detained in Georgia were almost finished.
The Korea Times reports that a chartered plane will be despatched to fly the workers back home.
Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-siik made thhe announcement as he described the release as imminent.
A large-scale raid was carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Homeland Security Investigations unit on Thursday and 475 workers were detained at the construction site of the HL-GA Battery Company. Over 300 of them were Korean. The US said the detainees were on short-term business or recreational visas that do not allow them to work.
After the raid, Choo Ki-joong, consul general at the Korean Embassy visited the ICE detention center in Georgia, on Saturday and began consular interviews with the detainees.
ICE later released video footage of workers in restraints, handcuffed and shackled while being led into vehicles.
It sparked outrage in Seoul.
President Lee Jae Myung ordered his administration to treat te case as a top priority.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he was prepared to take the issue directly to Washington.
Korean officials have emphasized that the case must not jeopardized broader investment and trade ties with Washington
