Seoul protests target U.S. detention of workers

Protests condemning the mass detention of Korean workers in Georgia, the U.S. took place across downtown Seoul on Sept. 13.

The progressive group Candlelight Action held its 157th candlelight march at 6 p.m. near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul’s Jongno District. About 500 participants chanted slogans such as “Condemn the U.S. for arresting and detaining our citizens,” “Expel U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Joseph Yun immediately,” and “Yankee go home.”

Marching through the Gwanghwamun area, participants also shouted “Trump must apologize” in front of the embassy. Kim Ji-seon, co-leader of Candlelight Action, told the crowd from the podium, “Summoning the U.S. ambassador alone is not enough. Shouldn’t we respond with expulsion?”

Earlier at 3 p.m., the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a Sept. 13 resolution rally near City Hall Station on Seoul Subway Line 1. About 1,300 participants attended, and KCTU Chairman Yang Kyung-soo criticized the U.S. government, saying, “The unjust detention of our workers stems from the Trump administration’s tariff demands and its interference in domestic affairs through increases in defense and military costs,” adding, “This is ultimately an infringement on national sovereignty.”

Previously, 316 Korean citizens who had been arrested and detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant (HL-GA) construction site in Georgia returned to South Korea on Sept. 12, eight days after the arrests.

Criticism has grown as the returning workers provided testimony about harsh detention conditions, racial discrimination, and insulting remarks by ICE officers during the local detention process.


이수연 기자 lotus@donga.com