According to Yonhap, Cho proposed setting up a bilateral working group to discuss the creation of a new visa category specifically catering to skilled South Korean workers, something Rubio agreed to "actively review."
South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung told reporters in Seoul that 316 South Koreans and 14 other foreign nationals will be flying out of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Thursday afternoon, on board a chartered Korean Airlines plane. One worker, however, has decided to remain in the U.S. as they have a family member who is a permanent resident.
The raid took place at an electric vehicle battery plant operated jointly by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution. Last month, Hyundai Motor Group announced it would invest $26 billion in the U.S. between 2025 and 2028. It is unclear if this investment will be impacted, but the Korean president warned that the incident could make Korean companies "very hesitant" about directly investing in the U.S. Lee added, "You need skilled technicians to install equipment at a factory. The U.S. doesn't have such personnel, yet visas for those coming for this purpose are not allowed." He then warned that if this continued to remain the case "our companies will face all kinds of difficulties and disadvantages when setting up factories in the U.S., and they will inevitably question whether they should proceed."
Earlier this week, president defended immigration authorities for carrying out the raid, saying the detained workers were in the U.S. "illegally." However, the president acknowledged that the entry of skilled technical foreign workers was necessary to train Americans. "If you don't have people in this country right now that know about batteries, maybe we should help them along and let some people come in and train our people to do, you know, complex things, whether it's battery manufacturing or computer manufacturing or building ship," Trump told reporters on Sunday. Later he made a Truth Social Post, saying "I am hereby calling on all Foreign Companies investing in the United States to please respect our Nation's Immigration Laws." He then added: "Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so. What we ask in return is that you hire and train American Workers."