Seoul is strategically turning Hyundai raid fallout to its advantage

Restrained response allows govt to steer tariff talks in its favour, analysts say

- Wendy Teo

Some of the South Korean workers who were detained after an immigration raid at a Georgia factory by US authorities arriving at Incheon International Airport on Sept 12. The raid has incited much outrage in South Korea, with labour activists calling for investments in the US to be halted.

(PHOTO: EPA)

The South Korean government is hoping to turn to its country’s advantage the Sept 4 immigration raid on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in the US state of Georgia, which saw more than 300 South Koreans detained.

While describing the incident as “shocking” and acknowledging that the country’s businesses would likely be “more hesitant to invest in the US”, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said in an interview with the BBC published on Sept 22 that he believed the incident could strengthen Seoul's relationship with Washington.

“There’s a Korean proverb that says, ‘after the rain, the ground hardens’,” said the President during the interview.

Days earlier on Sept 19, his foreign minister, Mr Cho Hyun, had urged calm amid a public outcry over allegations of US human rights violations endured by the South Korean detainees, and said that the US-South Korean alliance is strong enough “to overcome this issue” and for a “silver lining” to be found.

Analysts told The Straits Times that the government’s restrained and even optimistic response despite the heated domestic sentiment is a strategic move which allows it to steer ongoing tariff negotiations in its favour and to kick-start long-delayed discussions to revamp the visa system for South Korean workers headed to the US.

“Patience here is smart politics. The government knows public opinion is heated, but showing restraint now puts them in a stronger position to collect gains in the negotiations ahead,” said economist Lee Mun-seob from the University of California San Diego.