최초입력 2025.09.08 13:19:32
Major South Korean companies have suspended all business trips to the United States following the mass arrest of Korean employees by U.S. immigration authorities.
Industry sources said on Sunday that Hyundai Motor Co. instructed employees who were scheduled for travel to the United States to cancel their plans. LG Energy Solution Ltd. also suspended U.S. business trips except for customer meetings and directed staff currently in the country to either return home immediately or remain at their accommodations depending on work needs.
The measures follow the arrest of 475 workers last Thursday (local time) at the LG Energy Solution-Hyundai Motor joint battery plant in Georgia on suspicion of illegal stay and employment.
The incident is expected to delay the progress on Korean companies’ factory construction in the United States. Securing business travel visas within the necessary timeframe is not always straightforward, which limits what can be managed by local staff alone even further.
Korean investment in the United States could also lose momentum, and statutory incentives once provided to foreign investors have been reduced since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. The immigration crackdown adds further pressure. “If subsidy cuts are followed by additional costs from construction delays, large-scale investment plans may have to be reviewed from top to bottom,” an industry official said.
Observers expect Korean firms will be forced to adjust the scale and timing of their planned U.S. investments. “The U.S. government has issued a heavy-handed warning against practices that had become routine at construction sites,” another industry insider said. “If travel becomes difficult, it will be virtually impossible for Korean companies to proceed with U.S. projects as planned.”
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