ICE raid at Hyundai rattles Asian execs

Immigration arrests at Georgia site cool enthusiasm about investing in U.S.

- BY MAX KIM AND NILESH CHRISTOPHER

PROTESTERS rally Tuesday in Seoul over the Georgia raid on a Hyundai factory, with one person wearing a President Trump mask.

The immigration raid that snatched up hundreds of South Koreans last week sent a disconcerting message to companies in South Korea and elsewhere: America wants your investment, but don't expect special treatment.

Images of employees being shackled and detained like criminals have outraged many South Koreans. The fallout is already being felt in delays to some big investment projects, auto industry executives and analysts said. Some predicted that it could also make some companies think twice about investing in the U.S. at all.

"Companies cannot afford to not be more cautious about investing in the U.S. in the future," said Lee Ho-guen, an auto industry expert at Daeduk University, "In the long run, especially if things get worse, this could make car companies turn away from the U.S. market and more toward other places like Latin America, Europe or the Middle East."

The raid last week, in which more than 300 South Korean nationals were detained, targeted a factory site in Ellabell, Ga., owned by HL-GA Battery Co., a joint venture between Hyundai and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solutions to supply batteries for electric vehicles. The Georgia factory also is expected to supply batteries for Kia, which is part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Kia has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on its factory in West Point, Ga.