The wide blast radius from Trump’s Georgia raid

UNITED BY RAGE — Back home in South Korea, the August White House meeting between President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump was deemed a great success. Lee buttered up Trump with compliments on the Oval Office’s gold finishes and promises of supporting the U.S. shipbuilding industry, and hopes of a stronger South Korea-U.S. relationship bubbled. That moment of hope, however, has proven to be fleeting, replaced by a different emotion: rage. Fast forward two weeks, and the pages of South Korean newspapers are now filled with fury against the U.S. over last week’s arrest of more than 300 Korean nationals at the Hyundai-LG electric vehicle battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia. Both the left and right alike are united in their feeling of betrayal — a rare example of unity in South Korea’s hyperpartisan politics. ICE says they arrested the workers at the battery plant, 475 in total, either for crossing borders illegally, holding expired visas or holding a visa that prohibited working. Many of the workers came to the U.S. on ESTA or B-1 visas, which are travel visas that only allow business meetings, not actual paid labor — a shortcut used by some South Korean companies to bypass the U.S.’s notoriously slow and rigid visa system. These companies say they need skilled Korean workers to help build up the factory because there’s a void in American talent due to the U.S.’s historical dip in manufacturing. Trying to rely on a local workforce would significantly delay the opening of these factories, they say. And South Korea can’t afford any delays when they’ve promised to make $350 billion in investments in the United States, which include manufacturing investments in the energy, semiconductor and shipbuilding sectors. To South Koreans, the situation is viewed as an egregious example of hypocrisy, not to mention betrayal: Trump wants South Korea to build factories in the U.S., but won’t provide access to the resources they need in order to do so. As a result, anger and bewilderment have become the dominant emotions guiding the response to the incident, leading to a rare consensus among South Korean publications on the left and right. The biggest surprise comes from the media reaction on the right, as conservatives are known for their strong pro-American attitudes. The country’s big three conservative publications — Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo and Donga Ilbo — have all published strongly-worded editorials in the last few days whacking the Trump administration. “It is nothing short of a grave incident that has undermined the trust toward Korea, which has sought to contribute to the U.S. economy through large-scale investments,” wrote Chosun Ilbo. Donga Ilbo asked, “If companies that are accelerating factory construction under pressure to invest are treated like criminal organizations, who would be willing to invest?” Joongang Ilbo has been the most pointed in its direct criticism of the administration: “Some interpret this incident as a political performance by the Trump administration ahead of next year’s midterm elections. However, a showy crackdown directed at an ally is an act that undermines the trust of the South Korea–U.S. alliance.” On the left, the verdict on the arrests is even harsher. In Hankyoreh, one of the leading left-leaning publications in the country, the rage is almost palpable in an editorial titled, “‘Invest’ on the one hand, and a massive arrest operation on the other — is this how one treats an ally?” The piece, which describes the raid as a shocking event, accuses the U.S. of blindsiding the Korean people. “We express strong regret at the United States’ double standards: demanding greater direct investment from Korea while simultaneously discouraging Korean firms through immigration crackdowns,” the publication writes. The sense of anger is noteworthy because of how divided the country is right now. South Korea is still roiling over the arrest of its former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law last year. The public has been divided along party lines over the handling of his criminal case, and the media coverage typically reflects that. One reason the shock over the arrests transcends traditional political fault lines is because of how ICE handled them. A video released by the agency shows a man in shackles, workers lined up against a bus, hands tied by cable ties. That scene would have been unimaginable in South Korea, where such moments are rarely released. And when arrestees face the public, handcuffs are often either blurred or hidden under a cloth for the sake of upholding their human rights. “Korea has deep historical memory of being humiliated by foreign powers and the visuals of Koreans in chains being paraded by a foreign power triggers collective memories of subjugation that go beyond this just being ’unfair,’” Raphael Rashid, a Seoul-based reporter who has closely covered the raid, writes on X. “This is public humiliation of the nation itself.” The conservative party, despite the outrage it has expressed toward the raid, has already begun to use it as a device to launch political attacks against Lee, who is a progressive. Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the conservative People Power Party, criticized Lee for not having the foresight to secure more visas for Korean workers when securing an investment deal with the U.S. The common denominator, however, is anger and disbelief directed toward Trump, who was smiling with Lee in the Oval Office just two weeks ago. Against that backdrop, the raid is viewed as a violation of trust between two allies — a transgression so alienating that it even transcends partisan and ideological divisions in deeply polarized South Korea. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at ckim@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ck_525. For the conversations that shape Washington, start with Playbook. Jack Blanchard breaks down the day’s moves, Dasha Burns brings unmatched White House insight, and Adam Wren delivers the weekend must-reads. Sign up now. 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