Around 300 Korean workers detained at an immigration facility in Georgia, USA, are expected to board a chartered flight to Korea as early as the 10th of this month, local time.
Cho Gi-jung, the Korean Consul General in Washington, met with the press on the afternoon of the 7th at an ICE detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, and mentioned the return schedule of the detained Koreans, stating, “We are thinking around Wednesday (the 10th).”
The chartered flight arranged by the government is expected to depart from Jacksonville International Airport in Florida, which is about a 50-minute drive from the Folkston detention facility.
Consul General Cho added, “We are doing our utmost to send those who wish to return to Korea as quickly as possible. Through a procedure to confirm individual intent, we will ensure that those who wish to return can do so swiftly.”
Officials from the Korean diplomatic missions in the U.S., including the Atlanta Consulate General, held meetings with the detained employees in Folkston for two consecutive days.
Consul General Cho stated, “We have completed the preliminary consular interviews,” and mentioned, “We will almost complete the interviews at the facility housing the women by today.”
Additionally, he noted that while the detained employees are not as comfortable as they would be at home, they are confirmed to be doing well.
Previously, on the 4th, U.S. immigration authorities conducted an operation at the construction site of the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, detaining 475 individuals, including around 300 Koreans.
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