Over 300 South Korean workers flown home after a week in U.S. detention are being greeted not only with relief but national outrage. The ICE raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Georgia โWashingtonโs largest single-site immigration actionโ has been likened to treating Koreans as โprisoners of war,โ with chains and lines of detainees sparking bitter memories of subjugation. Seoulโs anger cuts across party lines: conservative and progressive media alike accused the U.S. of betrayal, while polls show two-thirds of South Koreans believe their ally showed no consideration. President Lee Jae Myung warned investment could dry up unless visa rules are fixed, noting Korea lacks H-1B allocations that other U.S. partners enjoy. The humiliation, exacerbated by Trumpโs quip offering to let workers โtrain Americans,โ leaves relations strained, underscoring both the fragility of trust and the risks of politicising labour migration amid deepening industrial ties.
โWeโre in an age of new normal in dealing with the United States. The standard changes every time and constantly there has to be deal-making, not only on tariffs, but itโll also be the case with security issues.โ Kang Hoon-sik, The Guardian, Fri. 12-Sep-2025 โKorean businesses that have entered the United States are likely in a state of serious bewilderment.โ President Lee Jae Myung, Ibid โTrump, who do you think you are? โฆ national humiliation โฆ evil behaviour.โ Hong Jung-sik, Ibid
{๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฟ}: 300 Korean workers chained in a U.S. raid โ treated like POWs by an โally.โ Outrage in Seoul: betrayal, humiliation, backstab. ๐ฐ๐ท๐ค๐บ๐ธโ #BackstabbedByAlly #NationalHumiliation #TrustShattered #USKorea่ฃ