South Korea, US Begin Working-Level Talks On Swift Launch Of Visa Working Group: Seoul

(MENAFN- IANS) Seoul, Sep 18 (IANS) South Korea and the United States have begun working-level talks to improve the visa system for Korean workers, following an agreement after their mass detention in a US immigration raid, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

Seoul and Washington agreed to form the working group after more than 300 South Korean workers at a factory construction site in Georgia were detained for a week over unclear violations of visa rules. They were released after diplomatic negotiations.

The two sides have since held two director-level talks, between the foreign ministry and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, and between the South Korean Embassy in Washington and the US State Department, to discuss the launch of the working group, the ministry said, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"We shared our proposals on the specific operation of the working group and suggested holding the first meeting as soon as possible," the ministry said in a message to reporters.

"The two countries agreed to actively discuss measures to improve US entry procedures for Korean business personnel," it said.

Seoul also launched an interagency task force to help South Korean companies better address the U.S. visa system when traveling there for work, the ministry said earlier.

The task force, joined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and others, will collect opinions from across various industries about difficulties or problems regarding visiting the United States for work, and seek to come up with responses.

Key South Korean business lobbies, including the Federation of Korean Industries, will also take part in the task force.

Officials plan to make reform proposals to the US side based on the conclusions of the task force.

The launch of the task force came amid growing calls for efforts to improve visa guidelines for South Korean companies carrying out large manufacturing projects in the U.S., after the mass detention of South Korean nationals raised uncertainties over US visa policy standards.

Many of those who were detained were working in the US on short-term business or recreational visas. Companies have argued that the long visa application process and unclear visa policy of the U.S. hamper their ability to conduct their operations in the country.

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