TK Breached... Large Corporations' Battle Against COVID-19 Prevention

Samsung, LG, Hyundai Motor Strengthen Hygiene Management
Self-Quarantine Measures for Visitors to Daegu Implemented

Gumi National Industrial Complex panorama. (Photo by Gumi City)

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) severely hit the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, major conglomerates with nearby workplaces have gone on high alert. They plan to focus all efforts on infection prevention to minimize management disruptions such as production and supply caused by confirmed cases.

According to the industry on the 20th, Samsung Electronics Smart City in the Gumi National Industrial Complex is continuously informing employees of COVID-19 information from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the company bulletin board. They urge thorough personal hygiene management such as wearing masks and washing hands when commuting, and have installed thermal imaging cameras at entrances to check employees' temperatures in real time. It is also known that the frequency of disinfection has recently increased in some key facilities within the workplace.

Samsung Display issued an emergency notice on the same day, stating, "Employees who visited Daegu from the 13th to the 19th are requested to stay at home on the 20th as a preventive measure." If currently at work, employees are instructed to contact their department head and immediately return home. All employees are emphasized to wear masks and manage their health thoroughly starting from that day.

LG Electronics is also notifying employees at its Gumi and Changwon workplaces of COVID-19 response guidelines and instructions via email and the company bulletin board. They are strengthening disinfection of commuter buses and plan to further tighten restrictions on business trips to countries with outbreak risks, which have been in place since last month. An LG Electronics official said, "We plan to strengthen our response posture further in anticipation of increased employee concerns within the workplace."

Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant recently announced the "Attendance Guidelines for Visitors to Closed Hospitals due to COVID-19 in Daegu and Gyeongbuk" internally. Employees who visited Daegu Gyeongbuk National University Hospital after the 18th, Yeongcheon Yeungnam University Hospital (after the 16th), or Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital (after the 17th) are to be placed under self-quarantine for 14 days.

SK Siltron, which produces semiconductor silicon wafers at its Gumi plant in Gyeongbuk, is also busy preparing countermeasures to minimize supply disruptions. First, they are distributing masks free of charge to employees for infection prevention and restricting entry by checking travel history to high-risk areas such as China and confirmed patient movement routes upon entering the company. They are also minimizing business trips and meetings, and if a trip is unavoidable, employees must work from home for two weeks after returning.

POSCO has decided to close indefinitely three in-house employee recreational facilities located in Gyeongbuk?Wolpo, Guryongpo, and Baegam training centers?starting from the 21st. Employees will not be able to use these facilities until further notice.

Not only large corporations but also nearby mid-sized and small businesses and small merchants are taking measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. An automotive parts company in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, where Mr. A, the son of the 31st confirmed domestic case, works, stopped factory operations on the 18th and conducted disinfection of offices and other areas. They are instructing about 500 workers to wear masks and conducting fever checks to prepare for any emergencies.

Earlier, SK Hynix closed the education building (University·SKHU) at its Icheon plant after a close contact of COVID-19 was identified there the previous day. One of the new employees who joined last week was found to have had close contact with a confirmed case from Daegu, leading the company to issue self-quarantine instructions to all approximately 800 new employees. However, since they did not actually enter the factory, the plant itself was not closed.

An industry official said, "As COVID-19 infections expand in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, some employees’ anxiety is increasing," adding, "We are considering additional countermeasures to prevent further spread of the infection."