SEOUL: Seoul said Friday that US immigration authorities detained a number of South Koreans during a major raid on a battery plant in Georgia, urging Washington not to infringe on its citizens’ “legitimate rights.”
On Thursday local time, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE raided the “site of a (South Korean) company’s battery plant in Georgia,” ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong told reporters.
“Multiple Korean nationals were detained,” he said.
The Atlanta office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on X it had detained around 450 “unlawful aliens” during an enforcement at the battery site, a joint venture between Hyundai and LG
Yonhap said more than 300 South Korean nationals were detained at the plant, citing a diplomatic source.
Lee said that for South Korea “the economic activities of our investors and the legitimate rights and interests of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the course of US law enforcement.”
Seoul said it had sent diplomatic staff to the site and ordered them to establish a task force to address the situation.
It had also “conveyed our concern and regret” over the incident to the US Embassy in Seoul.
Hyundai Motor Group told AFP it had no comment on the raid.
LG Energy Solution told AFP it was “closely monitoring the situation and gathering all relevant details.”
“Our top priority is always ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees and partners. We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities,” it added.
South Korea, Asia’s fourth biggest economy, is a key automaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the US.
In July, Seoul pledged $350 billion in US investment to ease President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
South Korean companies have invested billions of dollars into building factories in America in a bid to access the US market and avoid tariffs.
Seoul says ‘multiple’ South Koreans detained in US factory raid
https://arab.news/nfs5v
Seoul says ‘multiple’ South Koreans detained in US factory raid
- Seoul said Friday that US immigration authorities detained a number of South Koreans during a major raid on a battery plant in Georgia
Mexico’s Sheinbaum to hold a support rally following major protests
- Sheinbaum called for supporters to gather in the capital on the weekend in what analysts said was an attempt to demonstrate her support in the face of growing scrutiny
MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has organized a large rally in the country’s capital on Saturday to shore up her support following a month of political pushback and major protests.
The killing of Mayor Carlos Manzo in restive Michoacan state had sparked two days of demonstrations in November with protesters setting fire to public buildings.
Just weeks later, thousands marched through the streets of Mexico City to protest drug violence and the government’s security policies. That was followed by the abrupt departure of the country’s attorney general, Alejandro Gertz, in December over reported disagreements with Sheinbaum’s administration on crime policy.
Sheinbaum called for supporters to gather in the capital on the weekend in what analysts said was an attempt to demonstrate her support in the face of growing scrutiny.
“We close this 2025 with the historic celebration of seven years of transformation,” Sheinbaum said in a post on X.
Sheinbaum took office in 2024, following the six-year tenure of her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, with both leaders representing the left-wing Morena party.
“Let us together defend the people’s achievements ... in the Zocalo of Mexico City,” Sheinbaum added, referring to the capital’s main public square where weeks ago protesters criticizing her government’s security policies had clashed with police.
Though Sheinbaum has seen high approval ratings in her first year of power, they dipped slightly in recent months, easing from 74 percent in October to 71 percent at the start of December, according to the Polls MX survey summary.
- ‘Reshape the narrative’ -
Analysts told AFP the president not only faces scrutiny from her political opponents and members of the public, but from within her own party.
This gathering in the Zocalo, the country’s main square, is an “attempt at internal support, to reshape the narrative, to call for unity,” said political analyst Pablo Majluf.
Political columnist Hernan Gomez Bruera told AFP that Sheinbaum is “an incredibly efficient president” who likes to be in control and demands a lot from her team. But she is also “very thin-skinned” and “has difficulty dealing with dissent,” he added.
Despite a slight slip in poll numbers over the past few months, the leftist leader, who is Mexico’s first woman president, is still benefiting from a decline in poverty levels that began under her predecessor.
Sheinbaum has also won praise among her supporters for keeping at bay US President Donald Trump’s threats of high trade tariffs and military action on Mexican soil against drug cartels.
Sheinbaum met with Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Washington on Friday to discuss trade on the sidelines of the draw for the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by all three countries. She said on X following the meeting that the three nations maintain a “very good relationship.”
