US to allow South Koreans to work at sites under temp visas but clear solution elusive

Highlights:

• South Koreans get assurance workers allowed to set up, service equipment in US under temporary visas
• US repeats legal obstacles to fundamental change for greater access to South Koreans
• US is committed to investment partnership, Deputy Secretary of State Landau says

The US has agreed to allow South Koreans to work to set up facilities at US investment sites under existing temporary visas and open new channels to help its ally send workers to do business there, Seoul's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

But US officials at a working group meeting offered no new answers to South Korea's argument for a wider access to US visas for specialty workers despite reaffirming a commitment to advance trade and investment partnership, the ministry said.

The US side made up of Departments of State, Homeland Security and Commerce officials made clear South Korean workers can work to install, service and repair equipment needed as part of South Korean business investment in the US, it said.

A new section dedicated for visas related to South Korean businesses will be set up at the US embassy in Seoul and US immigration authorities will open a new channel with South Korean missions to better coordinate visa matters, according to the foreign ministry.

The working group was set up in the aftermath of a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor car battery facility under construction in the US state of Georgia in September where hundreds of South Korean workers were arrested.

The arrests, which stunned the South Korean government and public, highlighted the lack of access to the right class of US visas for specialised South Korean workers needed at investment sites.

The US officials said a more fundamental change to US visa systems to accommodate Seoul's demand for clearer and certain access for its specialty workers faced "practical legislative constraints," the South Korean ministry said.

South Korea has pushed for years for a bill that would create or expand visa categories to accommodate skilled South Korean nationals who need to visit the United States.

That bill has had difficulty getting through Congress because visas are linked to immigration, one of the most sensitive subjects in the United States, according to South Korea's foreign ministry.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau stressed the "critical role" of the skilled workers of South Korean companies investing in the US at the group's first meeting in Washington, the State Department separately said.

The US was committed to encouraging investment by companies from South Korea as one of the leading foreign investors in the country, it said in a statement.

The working group will hold further meetings, South Korea's foreign ministry said.