US raid disrupts construction at multiple South Korean battery plants
The company is building three other production lines in Arizona, Michigan and Ohio
[SEOUL] The immigration raid at an LG Energy Solution-owned battery plant in Georgia has disrupted construction at multiple sites across the US, clouding the outlook for billions of US dollars of investment by South Korean conglomerates.
LG Energy has issued an internal notice calling for the immediate return of all workers and contractors travelling in the US under a short-term visa waiver programme, commonly referred to as ESTA, while advising those on a B-1 visa to stay at their hotels, a source familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
The top South Korean battery maker is building three other production lines in Arizona, Michigan and Ohio. Hundreds of South Korean employees and contractors hired by LG Energy are setting up equipment and training other personnel at the sites, which are scheduled to begin operations next year.
But the unprecedented raid at the company’s joint venture Georgia plant with Hyundai Motor last week led to a halt in construction and the detention of some 300 South Korean workers, most of whom were on ESTA or B-1 visas, which allow limited business engagement.
Some work is continuing at the construction sites, the source said. South Korea’s Kyunghyang newspaper reported earlier that the company has effectively ceased construction at the other three sites.
The incident rattled South Korea, a longtime ally and one of the US’s biggest investors and trading partners, as it came just two weeks after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump held a summit to strengthen their economic and security partnerships.
South Korea plans to send a chartered plane to the US on Wednesday (Sep 10) to bring home the detained workers, which could mark the country’s largest evacuation mission since it airlifted some 700 citizens from China after the Covid-19 crisis erupted in early 2020.
LG Energy CEO Kim Dong-Myung will accompany about 330 people on the aircraft operated by Korean Air Lines, slated to depart Atlanta on early Wednesday and arrive in Seoul on Thursday afternoon, a source familiar with the situation said. LG Energy declined to comment. BLOOMBERG
