Many Korean companies sneak their employees into U.S. jobs via visa programs that do not allow travellers to work, Korean business leaders admitted to the AFP news service.

The labor smuggling “was a normal practice” and is “deeply rooted in business operations, a source from Korea’s battery industry told the news service. “But this may have to change from now on,” the source said.

The admission comes after President Donald Trump’s deputies detained roughly 300 Korean workers at a taxpayer-backed Hyundai factory construction site in Georgia. The workers got through the U.S. borders by using B-1/B-2 visa for tourists and business travelers, or by getting approval via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) process.

Those visa routes, however, sharply limit the type of wor

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