Some 300 South Korean workers returned home to emotional reunions with families, one week after being detained in a major US immigration raid that left some questioning whether they would ever work in the country again.

Wearing face masks, they disembarked a chartered plane at Incheon airport and were greeted with cheers from officials, including the presidential chief of staff, before being taken by bus to meet family members.

Their return capped a week of intense negotiations by Seoul to win their release and bring them home after they were taken into custody in handcuffs and shackles — images that shocked many in South Korea, a key US ally. Loading...

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said he had come to the airport to highlight how seriously President Lee Jae-myung was ta

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