Duty-Free Shops in 'Emergency'... Lotte Jeju Branch Also Suspends Operations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Lotte Duty Free Jeju Branch will temporarily close starting from the 3rd. This is due to the confirmation that a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) visited the store.

On the same day at 6 PM, Lotte Duty Free announced that, according to the announcement by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, a confirmed COVID-19 patient (Chinese national) who returned to Yangzhou, China, had visited the Jeju branch on the 23rd. Accordingly, Lotte Duty Free is controlling customer entry and facilitating the exit of customers inside the store according to internal manuals.

Furthermore, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and ensure the safety of customers and employees, Lotte Duty Free Jeju Branch will enter temporary closure starting from the 3rd. After closing the store, additional disinfection work will be conducted. Lotte Duty Free will decide the reopening schedule after consultation with health authorities and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

A Lotte Duty Free official stated, “To prevent the domestic spread of the novel coronavirus and to ensure the safety of customers and employees, we promptly ended business today and decided on temporary closure.”

Meanwhile, on the 24th, Lotte Duty Free formed an emergency response committee chaired by the CEO and has been operating a continuous response system. Lotte Duty Free is conducting professional disinfection of major stores once a day, self-sterilization and disinfection more than six times a day, mandating mask-wearing for all employees, and providing masks to customers.