Reports of the recent raid of a Georgia-based Hyundai E.V. plant and subsequent arrest of its workers, most of whom were South Korean citizens by the US Department of Homeland Security are regrettable indeed. New South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has rightly ordered a swift, all-out response to the arrests. One, however, thinks this incident is highly unlikely to hurt the fast-emerging ties between Seoul and Washington.

Observers say the operation is part of President Donald J Trump administration’s crackdown on the workers who have been living in the United States illegally or working there unlawfully. The arrest is the culmination of a months-old into investigation into the matter. The operation aims to ensure “a level playing field for all businesses to comply with the law of the land.

There is no vendetta against the South Koreans in the United States. It is Georgia Governor Brian Kemp who has promoted the $7.6 billion Hyundai factory there. Seoul is a key Asian ally and investor of the United States today. South Korea is equipped with cutting-edge shipbuilding technology. It manufactures semiconductors and electric car batteries, and automobile in its factories on US soil and creates numerous jobs for American workers. During President Trump’s recent summit with  his South Korean counterpart Lee at the White House, the latter pledged to invest an additional $150 billion in the United States, including in battery manufacturing.

South Korea helps the US to construct new shipyards, train shipbuilding personnel and maintain US Navy ship. The Trump administration wants to revitalize the US shipbuilding. It is well aware the U.S. today accounts for less than 1% of the global shipbuilding sector, China 50%, South Korea 30% and Japan10%.

The raids on illegal workers are normal in the USA. Under the administration of President George W. Bush, 389 workers had been arrested at a kosher meatpacking company in Postville, Iowa, in 2008.

Observers say security cooperation between the two nations has moved from strength to strength since they concluded the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1953. The US fought on its side in the Korean War (1950–1953). During the Vietnam War, South Korean President Park Chung Hee sent troops to assist the Americans. In 1987, the US designated South Korea as a major non-NATO ally. In 2004, South Korean President Roh Moo hyan authorized dispatching troops to Iraq.

In 2017, the administration of South Korean President Park Geun-hye deployed the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in the country. During South Korean President Yoon’s visit to Washington in April 2023, the two nations worked out a nuclear deterrence plan. The deal allowed US nuclear submarines to dock in South Korea.

Today over 28,500 US military personnel are stationed in South Korea. The Seoul-Washington military architecture is designed in such a way that South Korean forces would fall under United States control should any war between the two Koreas break out. The air forces of South Korea and the USA conduct annual joint exercises. Recently, the US has sold to South Korea the systems, including MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes, Precision Guided Munitions, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, P-8A Patrol Aircraft, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile systems, Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, KF-16 aircraft Upgrades, Aegis Combat Systems, Harpoon and Hellfire Missiles, and AH-64E Attack Helicopters.

President Lee seems to be fully aware that Seoul’s military alliance with Washington is inevitable to contain the threat North Korea continues to pose to his nation’s existence. North Korea is armed with nuclear weapons. It is estimated to possess over 50 nuclear warheads.

The observers counsel President Trump would do well to use his office to help South Korea and Japan get closer to each other. It would be good for peace and development in East Asia and the world. He could persuade the two nations to do what France and Britain did after their Hundred Years’ War and what Germany and its neighbors did. All pro-peace nations in the world could come along in this enterprise.

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Source: Weekly Blitz :: Writings