By Joyce Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Thursday a U.S. immigration raid resulting in the detention of hundreds of workers at a Hyundai Motor business project could have an impact on U.S. investment decisions made by Korean companies.
The raid was a confounding event and caused a great deal of confusion, Lee told a news conference, adding it was likely to leave South Korean businesses “hesitant” about investing in the United States.
Last week’s raid at a Hyundai Motor project site in the state of Georgia led to the detention of about 300 South Korean workers, sending shockwaves through South Korea and raising questions about the viability of doing business in the United States.
The 316 South Koreans who are now held at a detention center will leave that facility at 3 p.m. Korean time on Thursday and board a chartered plane to head back to South Korea, Lee said.
Lee also said he did not see a need to follow through on a plan to revise the country’s capital gains tax that was intended to increase tax revenue from stock investors.
The president said he now considered it unnecessary to lower the threshold defining “large shareholders” subject to pay capital gains tax. The planned tax change has caused a public backlash among South Korean investors.
South Korea will continue to make efforts to improve ties with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, even though Pyongyang has so far remained cold to the peace outreach by Seoul, Lee said.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee, Jihoon Lee, Ju-min Park, Heejin Kim, Jack KimEditing by Ed Davies)
