Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan speaks during a meeting with lawmakers at the National Assembly building in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan speaks during a meeting with lawmakers at the National Assembly building in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)

South Korea's industry minister said Monday that he had expressed "strong" regret to his US counterpart over the detention of South Korean workers.

More than 300 South Korean nationals are being held at a detention center in Folkston, Georgia, following Thursday's raid at an electric vehicle battery plant construction site operated by a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution Ltd. near Savannah.

During a meeting with lawmakers, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said he had expressed "deep" regret over the detention of the South Korean workers to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"I clearly said to Commerce Secretary Lutnick, how could the visa issue be dealt with like this in return for massive investment (by South Korea)?" Kim said.

Kim said it is true that the Seoul government has been working for years to resolve visa-related issues with the United States. (Yonhap)