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Construction work at US Hyundai-LG battery plant resumes
17 October 2025
Construction work on a new battery plant in Georgia, USA, has resumed after a six-week disruption following immigration detentions of South Korean workers.
Photo: Jason Yoder via AdobeStock
The disruption came after engineers from LG Energy Solutions and Hyundai Motor Group, for which LG supplies electric-vehicle batteries, were detained due to uncertainty over whether their work complied with US visa regulations, reported AJU News.
The resumption follows a bilateral agreement between Seoul and Washington clarifying visa rules for technical staff.
Another South Korean company, SK On, also confirmed that it is gradually dispatching staff to its US operations, with a US Embassy fact sheet in Seoul confirming that travelers under the ESTA program may perform work typically allowed for B-1 visa holders, including installing, servicing, or repairing industrial equipment.
AJU News said the visa clarification resolves the uncertainty that caused the temporary suspension of cross-border work and detentions at the Georgia joint-venture plant.
It reported that the US-South Korea Business Travel and Visa Working Group first met in Washington on Sept. 30 to address the issue.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is also scheduled to visit Seoul from Oct. 23–25 to meet executives from the South Korean companies with operations in the state.
The clarification of US visa rules is expected to support ongoing operations at US factories reliant on Korean engineers for technical expertise.
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