[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Geum, Minwoo Lee] As confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) surge, the financial investment industry has also been put on high alert.
On the 25th, according to the financial investment industry, thermal imaging cameras have been installed at the main entrances of securities firms such as NH Investment & Securities, Hana Financial Investment, and Kyobo Securities, as well as at the Korea Exchange and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in preparation for the spread of COVID-19. In the case of the FSS, to operate the thermal imaging cameras efficiently, the staircases connecting the 1st to 3rd floors were temporarily closed starting from the 21st. This measure was taken to control access so that entrants could only move through one passageway.
NH Investment & Securities selected about 150 essential personnel. In preparation for a headquarters shutdown, some staff related to fund settlement, IT, and operations were relocated to designated spaces within Seoul to continue their work as part of COVID-19 countermeasures. NH Investment & Securities also closed the main entrance of its headquarters and kept only the back entrance open to enhance the efficiency of the thermal imaging cameras.
Hana Financial Investment also recruited emergency duty personnel who can be immediately deployed in case of suspected infections or confirmed cases causing work disruptions. Currently, one person from each team has been seconded to work dispersedly in the training center. Earlier, Hana Financial Investment quarantined an employee immediately after it was reported that an acquaintance of the employee tested positive in the first round of COVID-19 testing. Employees working on the same floor were sent home, and disinfection was carried out.
Meritz Securities has implemented partial remote work depending on the nature of the work. It has also prepared guidelines for separating and relocating essential personnel in case of emergencies. Shinhan Financial Investment has arranged for alternative site work in case of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Yuanta Securities measures employees' temperatures four times daily and requires immediate departure if a temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher is recorded twice or more.
Korea Investment Management began emergency duty from the previous day. Among 258 headquarters employees, about 40 were designated as emergency duty personnel. This emergency duty is conducted through a combination of separated work and remote work. Separated work utilizes the Disaster Recovery (DR) Center located in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, and the auditorium of Korea Investment Savings Bank headquarters in Bundang-gu, Gyeonggi Province.
The Korea Exchange postponed the '38th Asia Oceania Stock Exchanges Federation (AOSEF) General Meeting,' originally scheduled for April 8, to next year. The AOSEF General Meeting, which includes 19 exchanges from 13 countries in Asia such as Korea, Japan, and China as members, was an event hosted by the Korea Exchange for the first time in 15 years since 2005.
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