Anchor: The government says it is bringing home hundreds of South Korean workers detained in a recent immigration raid at a battery factory construction site in the U.S. state of Georgia. Seoul's top diplomat is now in Washington to finalize details on allowing them to return by voluntary departure and get them out of the country on a chartered flight. But the U.S. homeland security secretary says they will have to be deported.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says authorities will deport hundreds of South Koreans arrested in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Noem addressed the issue after a “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing partnership meeting in London on Monday, saying the Koreans were detained for ignoring removal orders.

[Sound bite: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem]
(Reporter: "On the question of deportations, on the Hyundai raid in Georgia, how many South Koreans did you say were detained and are they being deported or are they being allowed to leave and are they barred from coming back to the U.S.?")
"Well, people that are in this country illegally need to know right now today that they have an opportunity to go home before they are detained. So many of those individuals that were detained through that operation in Georgia, we are following the law, they are going to be deported. A few of those had criminal activity beyond just being here past final removal orders and they will face the consequences for that... " 

The South Korean workers are among 475 people arrested last Thursday during a massive immigration raid at the battery plant Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution are jointly constructing.

While South Korean consular officials in the U.S. say the detainees would prefer "voluntary departure" from the U.S., Seoul's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has arrived in Washington to resolve remaining issues.

Cho told South Korean lawmakers the previous day that he will discuss with his American counterparts ways to improve the U.S. visa system for Korean workers.

[Sound bite: S. Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (Korean-English)]
"There was a request for large-scale investment, and we responded to it. Therefore, to realize this, we emphasized to the U.S. side that the visa issue is a priority task, and we will continue to discuss specific measures for this."
"The departure schedule has not been set. This is simply because there are still technical and administrative procedures remaining."

According to sources in the aviation industry, Korean Air plans to operate a B747-8i charter flight from Incheon International Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Wednesday morning to transport the South Korean detainees back home. 

The aircraft, with 368 seats, can accommodate all of the more than 300 South Koreans in a single trip.

Their detention has caused confusion and frustration in South Korea, which only recently reached a tariff deal with the Trump administration, promising investments in return for better customs duties.

The battery plant at the newly opened Hyundai factory complex is part of the company’s 12-point-six billion dollar investment in the U.S. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.