A chartered plane left Seoul for the United States on Wednesday to repatriate hundreds of South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid, flag carrier Korean Air told AFP.
South Koreans made up the majority of 475 people arrested at a Hyundai-LG battery plant under construction in the US state of Georgia last week, according to immigration agents.
The operation was the largest single-site raid conducted under US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, according to an investigating agent.
A Korean Air Boeing 747-8I, which seats over 350 passengers, left Seoul on Wednesday, a company representative told AFP.
While no official time has been given for the return flight, South Korean officials said Wednesday it had been delayed "due to circumstances on the US side", without giving details.
Local media had reported it would leave on Wednesday, US time.
"We are maintaining close consultations with the US authorities to secure the earliest possible departure," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Seoul's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who is now in Washington for talks on the issue, has called the mass detention of South Koreans a "grave situation" and pledging to secure the workers' swift return "in good health".
Before departing, Cho told South Korean MPs that "a tentative agreement" had been reached with US authorities to ensure the detained workers would not face penalties, such as a five-year ban on re-entry.
"I can tell you that negotiations are going well," he said.
'Great responsibility'
The South Korean government is reportedly seeking to have the detained workers leave the United States under voluntary departure rather than deportation.
Minister Cho is expected to raise the issue during his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday morning local time.
"I feel a great responsibility that our citizens have been arrested in this manner," Cho said during a meeting with South Korean business leaders in Washington on Tuesday.
Diplomatic officials had been dispatched to Georgia to mount a "full-front response", he added, with the consulate general in Atlanta in contact with local authorities.
In addition to being a key US security ally, South Korea is Asia's fourth-biggest economy and a major automaker and electronics producer, and its companies have multiple plants in the United States.
Seoul also heeded Washington's repeated call during tariff negotiations for global investment in the United States.
The site of the raid is a $4.3 billion joint venture between two South Korean firms – Hyundai and LG Energy Solution – to build a battery cell manufacturing facility in Georgia.
Experts said most of the detained South Korean workers were likely to hold visas that do not allow for hands-on construction work.
The case could provide momentum for Seoul officials to push for a special visa act tailored to South Koreans, said US-licensed attorney Yum Seung-yul.
"Using this as a case in point, officials here could strongly push for the Partner with Korea Act in Washington," he said, referring to a proposal that would create a quota of 15,000 visas for skilled professionals.
