Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

South Korea Gears Up to Repatriate Georgia Detainees


(MENAFN) A chartered flight departed from South Korea on Wednesday to repatriate hundreds of its citizens who were recently detained in an immigration operation in Georgia, as reported by a local news agency.

Flight KE2901, a chartered Boeing 747, took off from Incheon International Airport, located approximately 60 kilometers west of Seoul, at 10:21 a.m. local time (0121GMT). Its destination is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. According to the news agency, the plane has 368 seats and will transport approximately 300 South Koreans. These individuals were held during a U.S. immigration raid at a battery plant construction site in Bryan County, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution. The flight is scheduled to return to Korea on Thursday afternoon.

The Korean Embassy's consul general in Washington announced that Seoul and Washington have completed the arrangements for the departure of the detainees, and the majority of them are slated for voluntary return instead of deportation.

Additionally, on Tuesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun arrived in Washington to discuss the matter with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Their talks focused on the detention of the South Korean workers and potential improvements to visa programs for South Korean businesses. The South Korean presidential office had previously announced on Sunday that a chartered plane would be sent to the U.S. to bring the workers home after concluding consultations with Washington to resolve the issue.

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