Korean-born US green card holder Kim Tae-heung has been detained by US federal agents since his return from a visit to South Korea. On Sunday, his mother appealed to President Lee Jae Myung for help during his visit to Washington.
The head of the Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) delivered a handwritten letter by Lee Ye-hoon, Kim's mother, to President Lee during a meeting with Korean Americans held as part of the Korean leader’s first US visit since taking office in June.
According to NAKASEC, Kim, 40, who has lived in the US from the age of 5, was returning from South Korea after attending his brother’s wedding when he was detained by immigration authorities at San Francisco International Airport on July 21. He is currently being held at a detention center in Texas.
Kim is a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University, where he researches a Lyme disease vaccine. The group said the US government has not disclosed the reason for Kim's detention.
Kim was previously charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession in 2011 and completed a court-ordered community service sentence.
“While I acknowledge my son’s past mistake, I do not believe he deserves such harsh treatment,” the mother wrote in the letter to President Lee. “I hope the Korean government can urge the US to release him.”
NAKASEC also highlighted the case of Ko Yeon-soo, a 20-year-old South Korean student at Purdue University and daughter of an Episcopal priest, who was briefly detained in New York last month by US immigration authorities after attending a routine court hearing over her visa status.
The incidents come amid renewed enforcement efforts by US immigration authorities under US President Donald Trump, which began in January.
The South Korean government has not yet issued a public response.
khnews@heraldcorp.com
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