South Korea’s foreign ministry has reached an agreement with U.S. authorities to fly home hundreds of its citizens detained after an immigration raid last Thursday at automotive manufacturer Hyundai’s (HYMLF) electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia. The development means the detainees will avoid deportation and instead return home voluntarily.
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The raid at the plant has been described as the largest single-location raid in U.S. history. The plant, which is still under construction, is jointly owned by Hyundai and LG Energy, a Seoul-based lithium-ion battery manufacturer.
ICE Raids Plant
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took 475 people—over 300 of them South Korean nationals—into custody after the raid. The federal agency accused the detainees of working illegally at the facility.
The agreement with South Korea means that the detainees will avoid the extensive ban on reentry that comes with deportation. Also, South Korea has pledged to invest tens of billions of dollars in American manufacturing, in part to reduce tariffs.
Reacting to the development, President Donald Trump, in a post published on Truth Social on Monday, called on foreign companies in the country to “please respect our nation’s immigration laws.” The American leader noted that the “very smart people, with great technical talent,” are welcome, but he further demanded that foreign firms “hire and train American workers.”
According to media reports, Seoul-headquartered Hyundai did not directly hire any of the detained workers. However, LG Energy has acknowledged that 47 of the workers are its employees. Videos released by the ICE show the workers outside of the factory being shackled as they were marched up to be taken into custody.
Why Is Hyundai’s Stock Falling?
In its most recent quarterly results released in July, Hyundai’s profit plummeted by 21% year-over-year to $2.4 billion (KRW 3.3 trillion). This is due to the impact of U.S. tariffs and its increased spending on incentives to boost sales. However, the Korean manufacturer sold 16% more of its hybrid car models.
Furthermore, the carmaker’s sales jumped 3.3% from the same period last year, with those of its eco-friendly vehicles soaring 32.5%. This came on a 7.3% year-over-year growth in revenue across the company’s entire business ventures. The figure came in at about $35 billion (KRW 48.3 trillion).
Meanwhile, as of July 30th last available price in U.S. trading—Hyundai’s shares have limited trading in the country—HYMLF stock fell by over 7% to reach $51. Between January and July, that is about a 13% fall in its price.
Similarly, Hyundai’s shares fell by 0.68% to close at $157 (KRW 218,500) on Monday on the Korean Exchange (KRX). Since the start of the year, the stock has dropped by approximately 5% on the KRX.
Meanwhile, on TipRanks, HYMLF stock currently has no ratings by Wall Street analysts. However, TipRanks’ Technical Analysis Tool points to a Strong Buy Overall Consensus.
Moreover, investment banker Goldman Sachs (GS) in late August gave Hyundai’s shares a Buy rating, pointing to the possibility that the automotive company and its affiliated brand Kia (KIMTF) can grow their U.S. market share to 13.7% by 2028—up from 11.5% in 2025. Hyundai is the single largest shareholder in Kia.