South Korea, U.S. form visa working group for Korean project staff

South Korea and the United States launched a bilateral working group in Washington on Tuesday to address visa arrangements for Korean workers after a recent immigration raid in Georgia detained hundreds of South Koreans, officials said. The inaugural session, cochaired by South Korea’s ambassador for public diplomacy Jung Ki-hong and Kevin Kim, a senior State Department official for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, aimed to clarify which short-term visas and travel authorizations allow Korean personnel to enter the United States to support investment projects.

Officials from South Korea’s foreign ministry said the two sides agreed to establish a Korean Investor Desk at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to provide visa guidance and a communication channel for Korean companies. The desk is expected to begin operations in October, with practical details to be posted on the embassy’s website, the ministry said. Participants in the meeting included representatives from the U.S. Departments of State, Homeland Security, Commerce and Labor and officials from South Korea’s ministries of trade, industry, and small and medium enterprises.

The two governments clarified that holders of B1 business...