Hyundai Motor advises employees to postpone US trips following immigration raid

Seoul, Sep 7 Hyundai Motor Group has advised employees to postpone travelling to the United States for business trips after hundreds of South Koreans were taken into custody following an immigration raid in Georgia, industry sources said on Sunday.

In a notification to employees who were set to make business trips to the U.S. next week, the company advised them to review such plans, with the exception of urgent and essential visits, according to the sources, reports Yonhap news agency.

The advisory was apparently seen as part of efforts to prepare for potential situations that could arise following the recent raid, although no Hyundai Motor employees have been detained.

More than 300 South Korean nationals out of 457 people have been taken into custody during the raid on the site operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution Ltd. The presidential office has announced that negotiations for the release of the South Korean workers have concluded.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will depart for Washington this week, diplomatic sources said on Sunday, after the government announced that negotiations for the release of South Korean workers detained by a recent US immigration raid have concluded.

Cho, who is set to leave for the US on Monday afternoon, is expected to meet US officials to request their cooperation for the release of the detained South Koreans and discuss administration procedures, multiple diplomatic sources said.

The top diplomat is also expected to request US cooperation on preventing similar incidents and underscore the need to improve the visa system for South Korean nationals travelling to the US for work.

During a government response meeting to the US immigration arrests on Saturday, Cho said he would visit Washington if necessary for talks with US officials.

US officials cast Thursday's raid as "the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations." US President Donald Trump expressed his support Friday for the ICE operation, describing those detained as "illegal aliens."

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