hankyoreh

Seoul Metro workers sanitize turnstiles at Gwanghwamun Station on Jan. 28 in an effort to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus that's infected thousands in China. (Lee Jeong-a, staff photographer)

With the spread of a new coronavirus, South Korean companies are running in "crisis management mode," taking measures like repatriating their employees in Chinese branches while refraining from restarting factories that had stopped running during the Chinese New Year holidays.

Posco, which operates an automotive steel manufacturing plant in Wuhan, Hubei Province, has ceased operations at all of its plants in China, in keeping with the Chinese government's measure to extend the Chinese New Year holidays. "We will have to monitor the situation before we decide to restart [the plants]," a Posco representative told the Hankyoreh on Tuesday.

SK Global Chemical is continuing to run its Wuhan plant, but with the smallest possible workforce. "[the company] repatriated 10 or so Korean employees working at the factory, while an executive vice president stayed behind to monitor the situation," said an SK representative. SK employees returning from China are also required to work from home for 10 days, whether or not they exhibit any abnormal symptoms. Samsung Electronics, which operates a household electronics factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, has decided to postpone restarting the plant until Feb. 8.

On top of the Chinese government's extension of the New Year holidays until Feb. 2., Samsung reportedly instructed all of its companies not to resume work in Suzhou until at least Feb. 8. However, Samsung Electronics explained that its semiconductor back-end manufacturing plant in Suzhou is operating normally.

Hyundai Motor Group, which currently has plants in Beijing and Chongqing, has halted operations in China until Feb. 2. "We have not yet decided on a holiday extension because the situation is fluid," said a group representative. Hyundai Motor Group is currently advising sojourning employees to return home, the costs of which the company has decided to cover. A group-wide moratorium on business trips to China has also been put into place until further notice.

LG affiliates like LG Electronics and LG Chemical have also banned their employees from business trips to China. The company indicated that it is also planning on repatriating employees stationed at Chinese affiliates as quickly as possible, adding that, while the LG Display plant in Guangzhou is operating normally, employees based in South Korea have been banned from business trips to China.

By Song Gyung-hwa, staff reporter

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