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South Korea charters Korean Air 747-8 to repatriate South Korean workers being held in the U.S.
September 11th 2025
A 747-8i operated by Korean Air has been chartered by the South Korea government to bring home South Korean workers detained in a large-scale September 4 raid at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia. Read More » U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained 475 workers, including more than 300 South Koreans, for allegedly working on visas that do not permit employment. Images of the raid, showing employees lined up, chained and shackled shocked South Korea. The country’s president, Lee Jae Myung, said Seoul will negotiate with Washington to achieve a reasonable resolution to the situation based on the spirit of their alliance, and added at a cabinet meeting he felt a “heavy responsibility” for the detained nationals. South Korean officials have been negotiating with the U.S. to win “voluntary” departures of the workers rather than deportations that could result in the detainees being ineligible to return to the U.S. for up to 10 years. On September 10, a KAL 747-8i with 368 seats departed Seoul for Atlanta. The plane was scheduled to swiftly exit the U.S. with workers on board on the same day, but the return leg was postponed, due to “a cause from the U.S. side”, South Korea’s foreign affairs ministry said.
