South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered all-out efforts on Saturday to respond to the arrests of hundreds of the nation's citizens in a US immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor car battery factory.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said the government has set up a team to respond to Thursday's arrest of over 300 Koreans at the facility, under construction in the southern state of Georgia, and that he may go to Washington to meet officials if needed.

The arrest of some 475 workers at the plant near Savannah, part of President Donald Trump's escalating crackdown on immigrants, was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the US Department of Homeland Security's history.

The Trump administration and Seoul, a key Asian ally and investor in the US, have been at odds over the details of a trade deal that includes US$350 billion of South Korean investment in the United States. (Reuters)