More than 300 South Korean workers return home after US immigration raid

Images of arrested workers successful handcuffs and chains person caused outrage implicit what galore spot arsenic a betrayal of an ally.

A chartered formation carrying hundreds of South Korean workers arrested successful a large United States migration raid has landed successful Incheon, ending a weeklong saga that rattled Seoul and formed a acheronian shadiness implicit its ties with cardinal state Washington.

Television footage showed a Korean Air Boeing 747-8I touching down astatine Incheon International Airport connected Friday with much than 310 passengers who had been arrested successful the US authorities of Georgia.

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The workers made up the bulk of the 475 radical swept up during a raid astatine a Hyundai-LG artillery works operation tract – the largest single-site migration cognition since US President Donald Trump resumed bureau and pledged to intensify crackdowns.

“Everything astatine Atlanta went smoothly,” a South Korean Foreign Ministry authoritative told the AFP quality agency, confirming the formation near arsenic scheduled.

Images of workers successful handcuffs and chains during the arrests caused heavy outrage successful South Korea, wherever choler has dispersed implicit what galore spot arsenic a betrayal of an ally.

At the airport, protesters held placards mocking Trump successful an ICE azygous and accusing Washington of luring concern lone to criminalise workers. One man’s motion read: “You told america to invest, lone to apprehension us! Is this however you dainty an ally?”

Rare governmental unity successful South Korea

President Lee Jae-mMyung called the raid “bewildering” and warned it could deter aboriginal investment. He said Seoul was pressing Washington “to guarantee that visa issuance for investment-related purposes operates normally”.

Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, reporting from Incheon airport, said US officials had insisted “right up until the past infinitesimal that they were going to beryllium deported and that determination would beryllium restrictions … connected re-entry for astatine slightest the adjacent 5 years”.

But, Barton noted, “the South Korean authorities was capable to negociate with the Trump medication … and they were allowed successful the extremity to [make] a voluntary return, and … determination volition beryllium nary visa restrictions oregon re-entry restrictions.”

Barton said the raid had caused uncommon governmental unity successful South Korea. “This is the lone contented I’ve seen them truly benignant of connected the aforesaid page,” helium reported, with politicians from crossed the spectrum condemning images of workers “having their ankles and hands chained together, and past doing that benignant of perp locomotion onto the bus”.

He added that polls showed astatine slightest 60 percent of South Koreans disapproved of the raid, informing the fallout could harm aboriginal investments.

Industry executives said the arrests would hold operation astatine the $4.3bn Georgia facility.

Labour groups successful Seoul demanded accountability. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions urged Trump to apologise, accusing his medication of “a wide usurpation of quality rights” and calling connected South Korea to suspend US investments.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies