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Outside the ICE facility in Folkston, Georgia, from which over 300 Korean nationals were set to be released early on Sept. 10, 2025 (local time). (Kim Won-chul/Hankyoreh)

The delayed departure for 300 or so Koreans detained at a US government facility in Georgia was apparently due to President Donald Trump’s proposal that they remain in the US to work.

An official with Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a briefing at the Korean Embassy in Washington on Wednesday that Foreign Minister Cho Hyun had confirmed the reason for the delay in a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Korean detainees were originally supposed to be released early Wednesday morning.

“In his meeting with Secretary Rubio, the foreign minister learned that President Trump had ordered the repatriation procedures to be temporarily halted. Trump had apparently wanted to know whether the Korean government preferred to bring the detained Koreans home or to have them stay in the US to educate and train American workers, given their high skill level,” the official said.

“Cho responded that since the Korean detainees were under a great deal of shock and fatigue, it would be best for them to go home for now and then [return to the US for] work at a later point. The US [represented by Rubio] agreed to respect Korea’s position and allow [the detained Koreans] to return home,” the official added.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun speaks to Korean reporters at the Korean Embassy in Washington, DC, on Sept. 10, 2025. (Yonhap)

Contrary to media reports about the release of the 300 Korean detainees being halted because of a disagreement about whether they should be handcuffed while being transported to the airport where their charter plane was waiting, the official said that the issue of handcuffing and the delayed departure “are unrelated.”

“President Trump ordered that the Korean detainees be transported from the detention facility to the airport without handcuffs or any other physical restraints, as we had strongly requested,” the source said, explaining that Trump’s orders had no bearing on the delay.

By Kim Won-chul, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]