South Korea’s foreign ministry announced Monday that South Korean nationals detained in a recent US immigration raid are expected to return home voluntarily, avoiding formal deportation.

South Korean presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik revealed return plans for the detained South Korean workers following negotiations with the US. Kang stated that the government intends to send a chartered plane to the US to bring the workers home once they are fully processed under administrative procedures. He also pledged that South Korea would work to improve the visa system for business travelers to the US to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

US federal authorities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), detained over 475 people during a raid on a construction site for an electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia. The raid was the result of a multi-month criminal investigation into “unlawful employment practices” at the site, which is a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution.

An HSI Special Agent confirmed that a judicial search warrant was executed and that most of those detained in the raid were South Korean nationals.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has held discussions with an official from LG Energy Solution regarding the release of South Korean nationals detained in a recent US immigration raid.