LG, Hyundai distance themselves from workers' legal actions over Georgia raid

LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor Group are distancing themselves from workers’ legal actions over last year’s immigration raid at their Georgia battery plant. LG said it was unaware of the claims until media reports, while Hyundai said its own employees were not among those detained. More than 300 Korean workers have begun filing administrative claims against nine U.S. federal agencies before pursuing lawsuits under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

The workers are filing administrative claims with nine federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor.

A Korean attorney representing the workers said she aims to file claims on behalf of all of them by the end of the year.

The claims allege unlawful detention during the Sept. 4, 2025 raid and poor conditions at an ICE detention facility.

ICE described the operation as the largest single-site enforcement action in the agency’s history, and no one has been charged in connection with the raid.

Published Sep 16, 2026 3:33 pm KST

Workers returning from a joint battery plant operated by Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Georgia leave Incheon International Airport, Sept. 12, 2025, eight days after being detained during a U.S. immigration raid. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor Group are distancing themselves from the legal actions of workers against the U.S. government over their detention during last year’s immigration raid at the companies’ joint battery plant in Georgia.

An LG Energy Solution official told The Korea Times Wednesday that the company was not aware that employees were taking legal action until media reports emerged Tuesday night. The official added that the company would not get involved because the legal actions were based on individual decisions by the workers, and the company is not tracking who is joining the campaign.

An official at Hyundai Motor Group also said none of the company’s employees were among those detained at the time, adding that it is not involved in legal action taken individually by workers from partner companies or those dispatched to the site.

A day earlier, CNN reported that more than 300 Korean workers detained during the raid started filing administrative claims with nine federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor.

The filings are a required step before the workers can pursue lawsuits against the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act. A Korean attorney representing the workers said she aims to file claims on behalf of all of them by the end of the year.

The claims allege that the workers were unlawfully detained during the raid on Sept. 4, 2025, and subjected to poor conditions while held at an ICE detention facility.

At the time, authorities detained 475 people, more than 300 of whom were Korean nationals. ICE said the operation was the largest single-site enforcement action in the agency’s history, but no one has been charged in connection with the raid. Local news outlet WTOC reported on Sept. 4 that no charges had been filed in the case, citing a Department of Justice spokesperson.

The raid was based on allegations of undocumented workers active on the site and other unlawful employment practices, but none of the companies accused of employing them have been charged. Authorities have also provided no public explanation of how the case was handled afterward.

LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor Group appear to be taking a cautious approach.

“If a company starts checking who is taking legal action and who is not, that alone could create unnecessary misunderstandings, so the companies appear determined not to get involved at all,” an industry official said.

During an investment forum in Washington last November, U.S. President Donald Trump said the companies had “spent $1 billion to build a factory and then were told to get out,” adding that he had stepped in to stop it.

The plant has recently been completed, and preparations are underway to begin mass production within the year. It will have an annual battery cell production capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours, enough to supply about 300,000 electric vehicles.

LG能源解决方案公司和现代汽车集团正试图与去年其位于佐治亚州的电池工厂遭遇移民突袭事件后，工人提起的法律诉讼撇清关系。LG表示，在媒体报道之前，他们对此事毫不知情；而现代则表示，其员工并未被拘留。超过300名韩国工人已开始向九个美国联邦机构提起行政诉讼，之后将根据《联邦侵权索赔法》提起诉讼。

这些工人正在向九个联邦机构提交行政索赔申请，其中包括国土安全部、移民和海关执法局、海关和边境保护局、联邦调查局、司法部和劳工部。

代表这些工人的韩国律师表示，她计划在年底前代表所有工人提出索赔。

这些指控称，在 2025 年 9 月 4 日的突袭行动中遭到非法拘留，并且 ICE 拘留设施条件恶劣。

美国移民及海关执法局称此次行动是该机构历史上规模最大的单点执法行动，目前尚无人因这次突袭行动而被起诉。

发布于2026年9月16日下午3:33（韩国标准时间）

2025年9月12日，在被美国移民局突袭拘留八天后，从现代汽车集团和LG能源解决方案公司位于格鲁吉亚的合资电池工厂返回韩国的工人们离开仁川国际机场。照片由《韩国时报》崔珠妍拍摄。

LG能源解决方案公司和现代汽车集团正在与工人就去年移民局突袭其位于佐治亚州的合资电池工厂期间被美国政府拘留一事提起的法律诉讼划清界限。

LG能源解决方案公司的一位官员周三告诉《韩国时报》，该公司直到周二晚间媒体报道出现之前，都不知道员工正在采取法律行动。该官员补充说，公司不会介入，因为这些法律行动是员工的个人决定，公司也没有追踪哪些员工参与了此次行动。

现代汽车集团的一位官员也表示，当时被拘留的人员中没有该公司员工，并补充说，该公司没有参与合作公司员工或被派往现场的员工单独采取的法律行动。

前一天，CNN报道称，在突袭行动中被拘留的300多名韩国工人开始向包括国土安全部、移民和海关执法局（ICE）、海关和边境保护局、联邦调查局、司法部和劳工部在内的九个联邦机构提出行政索赔。

这些备案文件是工人们根据《联邦侵权索赔法》对联邦政府提起诉讼的必要步骤。一位代表这些工人的韩国律师表示，她计划在年底前代表所有工人提交索赔申请。

这些指控称，这些工人在 2025 年 9 月 4 日的突袭行动中被非法拘留，并在 ICE 拘留设施中遭受恶劣条件的对待。

当时，当局拘留了475人，其中300多人是韩国公民。美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）称，这是该机构历史上规模最大的单点执法行动，但目前尚无人因这次突袭行动被起诉。当地新闻媒体WTOC于9月4日援引司法部发言人的话报道称，此案尚未提起任何指控。

此次突击检查是基于有关该工地存在非法劳工和其他非法用工行为的指控，但被指控雇用这些劳工的公司均未被起诉。当局也未就事后案件的处理方式做出任何公开解释。

LG能源解决方案公司和现代汽车集团似乎采取了谨慎的态度。

一位业内人士表示：“如果一家公司开始调查谁采取了法律行动，谁没有，仅此一项就可能造成不必要的误会，因此这些公司似乎决心完全不参与其中。”

去年 11 月在华盛顿举行的一次投资论坛上，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普表示，这些公司“花费了 10 亿美元建造了一家工厂，然后却被告知要撤出”，并补充说他已经介入阻止了此事。

该工厂近期已竣工，目前正在进行准备工作，预计将于年内开始大规模生产。其电池年产能将达到30吉瓦时，足以供应约30万辆电动汽车。