Multiple companies targeted in megasite ICE raid have ties to a worker death

Editor’s note: The video above is from previous coverage of this story.

BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Three of six companies that were targeted by ICE’s raid of the Hyundai megasite are being investigated for the death of a worker in March.

45-year-old Sunbok You died on March 21 on the Hyundai megasite after being run over by a forklift. The driver of the fork lift was identified in a police report as Sunhwam Bae.

Read: New details on megasite death surface as Hyundai EV plant celebrates grand opening

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation into HL-GA Battery Company, SBY America, and Steel Brothers Development following You’s death.

Those are three of the six companies ICE named in the search warrant they got to raid the megasite.

We’ve previously covered the presence of undocumented workers on the site, and the concern that workers were being exposed to safety hazards because of their legal status.

Read: Safety issues, injuries at Hyundai megasite concern workers, advocates

We have not been able to confirm the legal status of either You or Bae.

Two other companies named in the search warrant, Beyond Iron Construction and TK LLC, also have active OSHA investigations Beyond Iron Construction and TK LLC.

ICE detained 475 workers during the raid of the megasite, saying they were employees not just of HL-GA Battery Company but a network of various subcontractors.

Read: Local contractors say they’ve been left out at the Hyundai megasite

WTOC Investigates has previously covered the lack of local subcontractors on the Hyundai megasite, finding that as of March, 12 subcontractors on the site had Coastal Empire addresses. Of those 12, only four were established local companies- the rest of the companies were formed less than three weeks before groundbreaking on the plant or after groundbreaking.