US Congressman seeks investigation against SK Innovation for suspected illegal employment

SK Innovation’s battery business is facing uncertainties in the US as Congressman Doug Collins is accusing the firm of hiring Korean workers illegally to displace American workers at its two factories under construction in Jackson County, Georgia.

On Wednesday, the congressman sent a letter to the directors of Immigration (ICE) and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to investigate an alleged illegal employment scheme surrounding two battery plants worth $2.6 billion currently being built by SK Battery America -- a subsidiary of SK Innovation.

The letter claims that 33 Korean nationals -- who had been intercepted by CBP at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for attempting to enter the US with fraudulent work authorizations in May -- represent only a small fraction of the workforce on SKBA’s project that have systemically and illegally been brought to the country.

“If true, these actions not only hurting American workers, many of whom are currently eager for work, they are illegal and must be stopped. Therefore, I ask that CBP and ICE commit whatever investigative resources necessary to determine whether and to what extent there are foreign workers illegally employed at the facility in Georgia,” the congressman said.

SKBA promised 2,600 jobs once its two battery factories worth $2.6 billion were completed. In exchange, Georgia awarded SKBA with tax relief packages worth $300 million and Jackson County donated the land for the factories.

SK Innovation refuted the claim, saying that it has been hiring American workers all along.

“First, the agreement was to hire 2,600 workers after the completion of factories, not in the middle of the construction. Above all, of the 2,000 workers currently at the construction site, about 1,500 are Americans. The only reason SKBA is employing 500 Korean workers is because they know how to install equipment imported from Korea,” an SK Innovation official said.

“The 500 Korean workers currently at the plant entered the US legitimately. The 33 Korean workers had been brought in illegally by subcontractors, not SKBA. Those subcontractors were American firms. After the incident, SKBA gave a stern warning to those subcontractors to never repeat such incident again.”

SK Innovation will start the hiring process of 2,600 workers in the second half of this year together with the state government. Except for resident employees, most of the 2,600 jobs will be filled by Americans, according to the company.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)