LG Energy sends top HR executive to U.S. to secure release of detained employees

LG Energy Solution's factory in Michigan, United States [LG ENERGY SOLUTION]

 
LG Energy Solution is making "all-out efforts" to secure the release of employees and partner company personnel detained in a recent immigration crackdown at the construction site of a battery plant it is building with Hyundai Motor Group in Georgia. The battery maker also announced a full suspension of all employee business trips to the United States.
 
About 300 people from LG Energy Solution and its partner companies were detained by U.S. immigration authorities, according to the LG subsidiary on Saturday, including 47 employees of LG Energy Solution — 46 Korean and one Indonesian — and about 250 employees from HL-GA Battery, a battery equipment supplier jointly established by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution. Most of the detained partner company personnel are Korean, though their exact number and nationalities are still being confirmed.
 

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"We are working to identify the medication needs of detainees through emergency contact channels with their families and will request that necessary medicines be delivered to those in detention," said LG Energy Solution. "We are coordinating closely with the Korean government and relevant authorities to arrange in-person visits with detainees and to ensure that communication channels are made available."
 
Chief Human Resources Officer Kim Ki-soo departed for the United States on Sunday morning to oversee the company’s response on the ground.
 
“The swift and early release of LG Energy Solution and partner company employees is the top priority,” Kim told reporters at Incheon International Airport. “The government is also responding with full force, and we will do everything we can to ensure the safe and prompt return of everyone involved.”
 

LG Energy Solution's chief human resources officer, Kim Ki-soo, answers questions from reporters before departing for the United States at the Incheon International Airport on Sept. 7. [YONHAP]

 
Kim did not respond to additional questions regarding the company’s response plan in the United States or the condition of the detained employees.
 
LG Energy Solution has suspended all business trips to the United States for its employees, except for those involving essential client meetings. Employees currently in the country have been instructed to return immediately or remain at their accommodation, depending on the status of their assignments.
 
"We will do our utmost to resolve this situation swiftly and ensure the safe return of all individuals," the company said.
 
U.S. immigration authorities on Thursday carried out a major operation at the Hyundai Motor Group–LG Energy Solution battery plant site in Savannah, Georgia, and detained 475 people.
 
U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that they were undocumented immigrants who came over during the Joe Biden administration and therefore entered the country illegally.
 
"They were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job," Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]