Aftermath of ‘300 Detained’… Hyundai–LG Battery Plant in U.S. Faces Unavoidable Delays

Sep 9, 2025

Seoyeon Kim

www.kedglobal.com

Construction at the Hyundai Motor–LG Energy Solution joint battery plant (HL-GA Battery Company) in Georgia has almost come to a halt after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdown on undocumented workers. Hundreds of Korean partner company employees were detained, stopping equipment installation and interior work. As a result, the plant’s completion is expected to be delayed for several months.

According to industry sources on the 9th, work at the HL-GA site has mostly stopped, except for a small number of employees holding valid visas such as L-1 (intra-company transfer) or H-1B (specialty occupation). U.S. authorities recently inspected workers from LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Engineering’s subcontractors and detained about 300 people who did not meet visa requirements.

The plant had originally aimed for completion by the end of this year. Once finished, it was expected to produce 30GWh of battery cells annually, enough for 300,000 electric vehicles. While most outside construction was already finished, LG subcontractors were still handling the delivery and installation of equipment.

Of those targeted, around 250 were LG subcontractor employees, with 47 actually detained. They had been in charge of battery cell equipment and infrastructure. Among 168 Hyundai Engineering subcontractor employees, 62 Koreans were also detained. They had been working on interior construction.

After the crackdown, LG Energy Solution sent home workers who had entered on ESTA visas and placed those with B1/B2 short-term visas on standby at their lodgings. The remaining employees are now helping with the release and departure of their detained colleagues.

The Korean government is pushing for voluntary departure of the detained Korean workers. However, controversy is growing after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned “deportation” in an official setting. Unlike voluntary departure, deportation brings legal penalties, such as restrictions on re-entering the U.S. in the future.

Because of this incident, obtaining proper work visas such as H-1B has become practically mandatory for staffing and getting construction back on track. However, the H-1B visa is difficult to get, it requires strict qualifications and takes at least several months. In addition, H-1Bs are issued by lottery, and many are allocated to U.S. Big Tech companies. As a result, IT workers from India and China take most of the 85,000 H-1B visas issued each year, while South Korea only receives about 2,000 approvals annually.

If the detained workers cannot re-enter the U.S., subcontractors may have to completely replace their workforce. With the local atmosphere also unstable, bringing in new workers could become even more difficult.

An industry insider said, “For companies, it is very hard to replace staff right away, so it is most important to resolve this quickly. We hope the government works closely with the U.S. to minimize the disruption at the site.”

Experts warn that this is more than just a visa issue, it is a serious event that shakes trust and investment stability between allied countries. They stress that the Korean government must take a stronger and more proactive stance.

Kim Pil-soo, professor of future automotive studies at Daelim University, said, “This incident could greatly affect global production strategy. If visa problems cause delays, the plant’s completion could be pushed back six months to a year.”

He added, “If the government does not handle this properly, Korean companies could face an international credibility test. Korea must directly engage with the U.S. government, make a strong stance clear, and quickly restore normal operations while ensuring it does not happen again.”

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