South Korean workers return home a week after immigration raid

By Joyce Lee and Jihoon Lee

INCHEON, South Korea, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Some 300 South Korean workers returned home on Friday, one week after being detained in a large-scale U.S. immigration raid at a battery project site in Georgia.

Workers wearing face masks began disembarking a chartered plane at Incheon airport and were greeted with cheers from officials including the presidential chief of staff.

Their return capped a week of intense negotiations by Seoul to win their release and bring them home after they were taken into custody in handcuffs and shackles - shocking many in South Korea, a key U.S. ally.

South Korean businesses have long struggled with obtaining proper visas for specialist workers needed at project sites for months at a time, which has led to some workers relying on grey areas in U.S. visa enforcement.

The two countries are looking at establishing a working group to consider a new type of visa for Koreans, according to South Korea's foreign minister who visited Washington this week.

The workers, also including 10 from China, three from Japan and an Indonesian national, were met by family members and officials at LG Energy Solution 373220.KS, and its subcontractors. The battery company is partnering with Hyundai Motor 005380.KS to build the plant in Georgia.

The raid horrified South Koreans and has threatened to destabilise ties at a time when the countries are seeking to finalise a trade deal, which includes a $350 billion investment fund to support strategic U.S. industries.

In one sign of resentment, at the arrival gate, someone unfurled a poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump wearing an outfit with the initials of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement service and carrying a bag full of dollar bills with a machine gun slung across his chest. The caption read: "We're friends!".

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who flew to Washington this week to seek a quick resolution, has called on U.S. officials to come up with a new visa for workers at Korean businesses investing in the United States.

President Lee Jae Myung warned on Thursday that the incident could make South Korean companies hesitant about investing in the U.S at a time when Trump has been seeking to encourage foreign investment in manufacturing.