SEOUL’S trade envoy on Monday suggested that Washington has some regrets about a recent immigration raid that detained hundreds of South Koreans in the US state of Georgia.
Trade Minister Yeo Han Koo made the remarks to reporters as he arrived to the US capital for talks with US counterparts on finalising a bilateral deal, the Yonhap news wire reported.
“The mood is that the US side apparently thinks (the detention) was a bit excessive,” Yeo said, according to Yonhap, when asked if the immigration raid would impact talks.
The United States and South Korea are negotiating details of a deal struck in July that lowered tariffs on South Korean goods entering the United States to between 15 and 25 per cent.
Industry Minister Kim Jung Kwan was in Washington last week for talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as the two sides hammer out profit sharing and investment packages, Yonhap said.
“(We) are in the middle of intensively negotiating over the details,” Yeo told reporters at Dulles Airport near Washington.
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“(I) will meet the USTR and do my best to reflect national interests across the board,” Yeo said, referring to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The South Korean government said on Monday it would review whether any human rights violations were committed in the massive US immigration raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant.
Around 475 people were arrested at the site on Sep 4, mostly South Korean nationals who arrived back home in Seoul a week later.
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Images of the workers chained and handcuffed shocked South Korea, prompting a stern rebuke from Seoul. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called the raid “bewildering” and noted it could have a chilling effect on future investment.
In a social media post on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said he wanted foreign companies to bring experts for a period of time to train Americans “to make these very unique and complex products.”
“I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivise investment,” the 79-year-old Republican said in a post on his Truth Social platform that did not mention the raid in Georgia.
“We welcome them, we welcome their employees, and we are willing to proudly say we will learn from them,” he wrote. AFP
