Protests against detention of Korean workers accelerate discussions to promote US-Korea ”visa working group”

On the 14th, a meeting between the US and South Korea's vice foreign ministers was held in Seoul, South Korea, and the South Korean side strongly protested to the US side about the detention of South Korean workers. The US side also expressed regret and hoped that this would be an opportunity for system improvements.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, First Vice Minister Park Yoon-ju met with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the same day to discuss a resolution to the issue of Koreans being detained in Georgia.
They discussed cooperation on improving the U.S.-ROK border and visa system, follow-up to the August 25 U.S.-ROK summit, and regional and global situations.
At the beginning of the meeting, Vice Minister Park said that workers from Korean companies were being held in detention facilities in the United States.
He mentioned the unjust and inconvenient treatment that the workers had to endure, and expressed regret that not only the workers themselves but the entire Korean people have been deeply shocked by this incident.
He strongly urged that substantial measures be taken to prevent recurrence and improve the system in order to alleviate concerns. Vice Minister Park said, "The bond between the leaders of the United States and South Korea and the spirit of mutual cooperation between the two countries played a role in the process of resolving this detention issue.
"Specifically, we must ensure that returning residents are not disadvantaged when re-entering the United States, and we will discuss various measures, including the creation of a new visa category for South Korea," he said.
"We will accelerate the implementation of follow-up measures, such as establishing a working group between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Department to address this issue and setting up a visa consultation center," he said.
Deputy Secretary Landau also expressed deep regret over the incident and said that the system will be reformed.
"President Trump is also very interested in this issue, so I hope that those returning to the country will not be disadvantaged in any way when they re-enter the United States," he said.
"We will make efforts to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future," he said. "We are keenly aware that Korean companies' investment activities in the United States have made a significant contribution to the recovery of the U.S. economy and manufacturing industry.
"We will swiftly advance working-level discussions on follow-up measures to institutionally support this and ensure that visas appropriate to the contributions of Korean workers are issued," he added.
As a result, the United States and South Korea will soon establish a director-general level working group to begin discussions on improving the visa system.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Embassy in Korea are currently discussing the formation of a working group. As a first step after the working group is launched, the US Embassy in Korea will set up a "Visa Desk" for Korean businesspeople.
There is talk of establishing a new immigration office. This is a measure to expedite visa-related procedures for business people. Discussions regarding short-term business (B-1) visas are also expected to continue.
As in the previous incident, we would like to ensure that more B-1 visas are issued to companies necessary for the construction of cutting-edge factories, as well as to specialized personnel from partner companies, and that a wide range of activities related to the construction, such as local employee training, are guaranteed.
In particular, the government will use the working group to create a new quota for Koreans in the H-1B visa for foreign professionals, and to introduce the "Partnership Act" in 2012.
The government also intends to move forward with the creation of a separate visa (E-4) quota for 15,000 Korean professionals, which has been promoted through the U.S. Congress under the name of "Korean Specialist Visa."