By SCMP’s Asia desk

Copyright scmp

A South Korean worker detained in a large-scale US immigration raid earlier this month has alleged mistreatment by American authorities, describing several days spent in degrading conditions under psychological duress at a federal detention centre in Georgia.
The man, who declined to be identified, was among more than 300 South Korean nationals arrested during a surprise raid on September 4 at HL-GA Battery Company, a joint venture of Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution, near Savannah, Georgia.
In a handwritten log shared with Yonhap News Agency, the worker alleged that US agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to inform detainees of their rights, placed them in overcrowded, unsanitary cells and mocked their nationality.
“When asked about where the worker was from, the person replied South Korea, to which the agents smiled and talked among themselves, making remarks about ‘North Korea’ and ‘rocket man’, apparently referring to US President Donald Trump’s past moniker for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,” Yonhap reported on Monday, citing the personal log.
“I was angry but kept my temper because I was worried about what could happen to my documents,” the worker wrote.

The detainees had entered the United States under business (B-1) or visa waiver programmes but were accused by federal officials of performing unauthorised labour, specifically installation work at the battery plant construction site.
According to the worker’s log and corroborating media reports, ICE agents raided the site around 10am, presented warrants for arrest, and collected phones and personal items before transferring workers – many of whom were shackled – to the Folkston ICE Processing Centre.
The worker described being held in a crowded dormitory where dozens of detainees were housed together in windowless rooms with no way to track time. Each unit had a limited number of toilets and urinals, making access difficult, and the mattresses on bunk beds were reportedly covered in mould.
He said conditions were cold enough that detainees wrapped themselves in towels to stay warm, with some even using a microwave to heat them, and described the drinking water as foul-smelling.
Other detainees have echoed similar concerns. One returning worker, speaking to Associated Press after arriving at Incheon airport on Friday, described the discomfort of staying in a crowded room “with the toilet right next to where we ate and slept”. Another told Reuters that being detained in Folkston was “the worst”.
Korea JoongAng Daily highlighted prior findings by the US Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), which flagged “unsanitary conditions” and substandard medical care at Folkston in recent years. A 2022 OIG inspection found that detainees were housed in poorly ventilated units, with reports of black mould, insect infestations and broken toilets.
The facility, run by private prison operator GEO Group, was also cited for insufficient medical staffing and delays in responding to sick calls – failures that in one case contributed to the in-custody death of a detainee from India, according to an internal ICE review.

“The way it was done, it felt like … not even prisoners of war would be treated like that,” said Kim Young-hoon, South Korea’s labour minister, after the detainees were flown home on a chartered Korean Air flight that landed in Incheon on Friday, as quoted by the Financial Times.
South Korea’s foreign ministry has pledged to investigate the allegations and said US authorities assured them that detainees would not face penalties if they re-enter the country in future. A separate working group is also under discussion to establish a dedicated visa path for short-term technical deployments.
The US has not issued a formal response to the specific claims of mistreatment but has framed the operation as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into illegal employment practices. A total of 475 people were arrested in what Homeland Security Investigations described as the largest single-site immigration enforcement action in its history.
While no charges have been announced, the raid and subsequent detentions have drawn scrutiny, with Hyundai’s top executives warning of delays to the company’s US expansion plans and South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung cautioning that future investment could be jeopardised.