S. Korea, U.S. Explore Approaches to Address Visa Controversy

2025-09-29 03:59:22

(MENAFN) South Korea confirmed on Monday that Washington and Seoul will establish a joint working group this week aimed at overhauling the US visa process for South Korean workers. This move follows the controversy surrounding the detention and eventual release of South Korean nationals in a recent US immigration operation, according to local media reports.

The inaugural meeting of the working group is scheduled for Tuesday in Washington, as reported by a Seoul-based news outlet, citing South Korea's Foreign Ministry.

The group’s efforts will focus on streamlining the visa system for South Korean laborers, particularly as companies from South Korea continue to undertake significant manufacturing initiatives in the United States.

The discussions will be led by Jung Ki-hong, South Korea's government representative for protecting Korean nationals abroad and managing consular affairs, alongside Kevin Kim, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, the Ministry confirmed.

This move comes after more than 300 South Korean workers, who were helping to build a factory in Georgia, were detained for a week in early September due to visa issues. They were eventually released following diplomatic negotiations.

In July, the US and South Korea reached an agreement to reduce the tariff on South Korean imports from 25% to 15%. In return, South Korea pledged to invest $350 billion in the US.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok expressed his concerns in a media interview on Thursday, stating that without a resolution to the visa issue, "meaningful progress remains virtually impossible."

"The detention incident dealt a severe blow not only to the general Korean public, but especially to the workers," Kim remarked.

He added that both workers and their families are "understandably reluctant to enter the US again" while the visa dispute remains unresolved, stressing that "it will be very difficult for a large number of workers to enter or re-enter the US until this problem is resolved."

MENAFN29092025000045017169ID1110123035

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.