South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun delivers a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on July 23, 2025. Photo: VCG

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Tuesday that he has been keenly aware that the US is not the same one that had been cooperating well with many allies and friends in the past, when responding to questioning regarding the detention of Koreans in Georgia, Yonhap News Agency reported, with JoongAng Daily noting it "rare" that Korea's head of foreign affairs made a public outcry against the US.

Cho attended a Q&A session on foreign affairs, unification and security held at the National Assembly on Tuesday. In response to a question regarding why the tariff negotiations were not finalized in written form during the summit with the US, and whether it had become more difficult to reach a working-level agreement afterward, Cho replied that they had approached the negotiations with utmost dedication, as if staking their lives. In order to protect national interests, they believed it would be better to continue additional negotiations rather than settling for what had been agreed upon at that time — and that such remains the situation now.

The US side had agreed with their position that, instead of pushing for a fully detailed outcome immediately, it would be preferable to reach an initial agreement and then continue further negotiations, Cho added.

Cho also commented on the stalled follow-up tariff negotiations, stating that the main reason the follow-up negotiations was not being concluded quickly was that South Korean government currently found it difficult to accept what the US was proposing.

He noted that they were conducting the negotiations with a focus on finding a mutually beneficial solution. He added that even if it took some time, they were doing their best to protect national interests and steer South Korea-US relations in a positive direction.

US immigration authorities and Homeland Security Investigations, among others, conducted a large-scale "illegal immigration crackdown" at the construction site of Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution's joint battery factory in Georgia, arresting 475 individuals, according to The Chosun Daily on September 6. Most of those arrested were Korean employees, with around 300 reportedly detained for holding visas that did not align with their purpose of stay, said the report.

The NBC News cited The Chosun Daily, saying it framed the arrests as a betrayal and harsh blow to South Korea.

Global Times