South Korea aims to resolve US visa issues before executing $350 billion investment

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SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Friday the government will work to address problems faced by Korean workers with U.S. visas before proceeding with a $350 billion investment package that is part of a bilateral trade deal.

His remarks come after a recent U.S. immigration raid resulted in the arrest of hundreds of South Korean workers at a Hyundai Motor battery plant in the state of Georgia.

Most of the workers returned to South Korea last week, but the incident prompted calls from companies for a new visa category to make it easier for skilled Korean workers to help set up new factories and train U.S. workers.

Still, visa policy was not “a precondition” to make the U.S. investments in strategic U.S. industries, Cho said at a press conference in Seoul on Friday.

Cho said he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend a leaders’ summit at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which is being hosted by South Korea in late October.

Cho, who returned from a trip to Beijing for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi this week, said he relayed a message on South Korea’s willingness to discuss cultural cooperation with China at the APEC meetings.

China has maintained restrictions on importing Korean entertainment content, such as K-pop, for nearly a decade to protest against the installation of a U.S.-led missile shield in South Korea.

Beijing has contended that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system’s powerful radar could peer into its airspace, straining ties between the countries.

(Reporting by Heejin Kim and Cynthia Kim; Editing by Ed Davies)