South Korea Asks What Rational Business Would Invest in US under Trump

South Korean media united against Trump’s duplicitous, show off arrests of Koreans in a Georgia Hyundai plant, seeing it as a fundamental breach, betrayal, outrage, and national humiliation.

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South Korean media have united against U.S. President Donald Trump’s “duplicitous” “show off” raid and arrests of South Koreans in a Georgia Hyundai plant with “betrayal, outrage, national humiliation” as well as seeing in it a “fundamental breach of US-ROK alliance.”

They questioned why any rational business would invest in the U.S. under these circumstances, which should be concerning to Trump and the United States given South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group pledged to invest billions in the U.S. for new auto and parts production, a steel mill, and a robotics facility, creating thousands of jobs.

This investment is a part of South Korea's broader commitment of a $350 billion investment in strategic U.S. industries, which was part of a trade deal with the United States in July 2025.

“I don’t think people in the US understand the level of impact this raid/set of arrests is having in South Korea,” national security and China/Asia expert Sheena Chestnut Greitens wrote over a thread by Seoul-based freelance journalist Raphael Rashid:

1/ S. Korea's entire media establishment across political spectrum has united in unprecedented editorial consensus expressing profound betrayal, outrage, national humiliation, and fundamental breach of US-ROK alliance re: mass arrest of Korean workers at Hyundai's Georgia plant.

1/ Something that's not being reported much re: ICE crackdown at Hyundai-LG Georgia battery factory: Korean companies investing billions cannot get proper visas, are then criminalised for bringing skilled workers to fill gaps American labour cannot.

2/ The general sentiment: while Korean media occasionally unite on domestic issues, these are usually severely politicised. Here, the level of scorn spanning from conservative establishment to progressive outlets is extraordinarily rare. They are furious.

3/ Chosun Ilbo (flagship conservative): Scathing language calling this a "merciless arrest operation" that represents something "that cannot happen between allies" and a "breach of trust." Notes Trump personally thanked Hyundai's chairman just months ago.

4/ Chosun calls the situation "bewildering" and emphasises the contradiction: Trump pressures Korean companies to invest while simultaneously arresting their workers. The editorial questions whether American investment promises survive across different administrations.

5/ Dong-A Ilbo (conservative): Delivers perhaps the most damning question in its headline: "How are we supposed to build factories?" while noting Korea was "specifically targeted" and describing this as "shocking" behaviour between allies.

6/ Dong-A asks "who would invest" under these conditions when Korean workers are treated like a "criminal group." Notes this threatens 17,000+ jobs already created by Korean companies in Georgia. "The Korean government must demand a pledge from the US to prevent recurrence."

/ JoongAng Ilbo (conservative): Calls this an incident that "shook the values and trust of the ROK-US alliance" occurring at the very "site of economic alliance." Describes public being "appalled" at seeing Koreans dragged away in chains and cable ties.

8/ JoongAng characterises this as a "show-off style crackdown targeting an allied nation" and "an act that undermines the credibility of the alliance." Suggests this may have been Trump's political theatre ahead of midterm elections.

9/ Korea Economic Daily (business): Headlines this as an "absurd arrest of Koreans" incident. "It is hard to understand in terms of common sense why quotas for visas are given to Australia, Singapore and Chile, but not a single visa to Korea."

10/ KED notes that "this incident is a significant blow to the ROK-US economic alliance," warning that if this is used as "leverage" in trade negotiations, "it would be a behaviour of betraying the trust of the alliance."

11/ Maeil Business Newspaper: Uses headline: "When they told us to build factories, that was one thing... US arrests 300 Korean workers." Calls situation "shocking" and "absurd", notes you cannot supervise trillion-won investments without Korean personnel.

12/ Maeil states that it's "ridiculous that they would go after a company that has made a deliberate decision to invest in the US," ending with a simple but blunt message: "an alliance requires courtesy."

13/ Seoul Economic Daily (business): Calls this "shocking". "Our citizens' rights must never be violated again," describes the arrest footage as "horrifying". Uses particularly strong language, that the Korean workers were treated like "prisoners of war."

14/ "While we do not understand the political motivations of the far-right Republicans in the US in this reckless crackdown, it is also painful to see how our diplomacy failed to recognise a massive operation that had been planned for months."

15/ Hankook Ilbo (centrist-conservative): Korean companies "ended up looking like they got hit from behind," warns this threatens "trust between allies" and calls for fundamental visa system reform.

16/ Kyunghyang Shinmun (liberal): Calls this "what kind of bolt from the blue incident is this?" and "deeply regrettable" while criticising "treating them like criminals." Questions whether rational businesses would invest in a country behaving this way.

17/ Hankyoreh (progressive): Most direct in questioning alliance fundamentals with headline "Is this what you do to an ally?". Describes Koreans feeling "backstabbed" after the Lee-Trump meeting at the White House and accuses US of "duplicitous behaviour."

18/ My 2 cents: In Korea, public humiliation isn't just personal embarrassment, it's an attack on dignity that reverberates through society. The fact that the workers were filmed being shackled and footage was deliberately released by ICE makes it worse.

Over a tweet from September 6th, “These images of the mainly Korean workers being chained by ICE in full restraints including wrists, belly, and ankles are pretty nuts.”

Reuters reported on September 4th, “South Korea's pledge to invest $350 billion in strategic U.S. industries as part of a trade deal with Washington is likely to be led by state policy institutions that will provide funding on a case-by-case basis… Under a trade deal struck in July to cap U.S. tariffs at 15%, the countries agreed to a financial package to support industries such as shipbuilding, key minerals, batteries, pharmaceuticals, chips and AI, although officials in Seoul have said details on implementing the plan still need to be hashed out.”

On September 7th, the South Korean government said it has reached an agreement for release of about 300 citizens detained in the Georgia immigration raid, in which immigration authorities said they had detained 475 people.

Donald Trump has tried to run foreign policy like he ran his businesses, mafia style. His lack of diplomacy and financial thuggery has resulted in China, Russia and North Korea turning more toward one another and leaving the U.S. out, as the EU does the same, with India considering joining the China-Russia alliance.

On September 3rd, the BBC reported:

• China's President Xi Jinping unveils laser weapons, nuclear ballistic missiles and giant underwater drones at a massive military parade 80 years on from the country's victory over Japan in World War Two

• Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un joined Xi, along with dozens of other heads of state - and only two Western leaders

• The three leaders meeting together for the first time is the most enduring image from the choreographed spectacle, writes our China correspondent

• Meeting on the sidelines, Kim tells Putin it's North Korea's "fraternal duty" to help Russia - the country has already sent weapons and troops to Ukraine

• Meanwhile, Donald Trump, who was not at the parade, berated Xi on social media: "Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America"

This marked an important message being sent to Donald Trump, according to BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, “All the diplomacy (and the optics) in China this week was designed to send a clear message to the Trump administration. So, you want to Make America Great Again, do you? It's America First, is it? Well, then, we'll offer an alternative to the US-led order.”

Donald Trump has managed internationally what he has also managed domestically: He has divided people against him and the country he represents. He has humiliated leaders and countries so that they have become enraged.

Instead of trying to deal with what appears to be a failing United States under Trump, they are uniting together against the United States.

It’s ironic, but predictable, that the man who ran on making America great again is responsible for weakening the United States to the point that he is putting its national security in jeopardy and making sure world leaders leave the US behind while China builds a “military that is being built to rival the West.”

Meanwhile, our troops are being deployed against US cities run by Democrats in states run by Democratic Governors in a clearly petty retribution move by a president who, like an unwanted child, is run by his hurt feelings.

What do you think? Is Trump killing international investment in America? Share your thoughts in the comments below.