LG Energy Solution hails visa desk deal after raid

LG Energy Solution on Wednesday welcomed the result of working-level group talks between South Korea and the United States, as the two sides agreed to establish a dedicated desk, tentatively named the Korean Investor Desk, at the US Embassy in Seoul to prevent visa problems in the wake of a massive immigration raid at the Korean battery firm’s construction site in Georgia last month.

“We are grateful for the government’s swift support,” said LG Energy Solution in a statement. “We will thoroughly prepare for the plant construction in the US and work towards its normalization based on the two countries’ agreement.”

According to Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, government representatives of Korea and the US officially launched the Korea-US business trip and visa working group in Washington on Tuesday and conducted its first round of negotiations.

The US reaffirmed that Korean workers can use the B-1 visa and Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, to carry out activities required in the process of Korean companies’ US investments such as installing and repairing equipment and offering relevant services. The two sides agreed to continue close cooperation to set up stronger ties between Korean diplomatic missions in the US and American immigration authorities.

US authorities including Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a total of 475 workers at the construction site of HL-GA, a joint battery manufacturing plant between Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in Ellabell, Georgia, on Sept. 4, resulting in 317 Korean nationals being held in detention for about a week before their release back to Korea.