KB Kookmin Bank Closes Seo-Yeouido Branch After COVID-19 Case Visit and Conducts Emergency Disinfection

Resumption of Operations from March 2 after Emergency Disinfection
Yeoui Park Branch Also Resumes Operations after Disinfection

On the 28th, amid growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19, commuters near Yeouido Station in Seoul hurried along wearing masks on their way to work. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] KB Kookmin Bank has closed its Seo-Yeouido branch after a visitor who had contracted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) visited the location. The branch will resume operations from March 2 following emergency disinfection.

On the 29th, KB Kookmin Bank announced that one visitor to the Seo-Yeouido branch located in Yeouido, Seoul, was confirmed positive for COVID-19. The bank immediately conducted emergency disinfection at the branch and its sub-branch, Yeoui Park, and notified customers via text messages and other means.

The confirmed case visited the KB Kookmin Bank Seo-Yeouido branch on the afternoon of the 27th and received the final positive diagnosis on the afternoon of the 28th. Accordingly, KB Kookmin Bank promptly carried out emergency disinfection at the Seo-Yeouido branch visited by the confirmed case and at the Yeoui Park sub-branch, where employees from the same department work, to strengthen infection prevention measures.

Employees who may have been exposed are subject to 14 days of self-quarantine, and the branch will resume operations from March 2 with dispatched staff.

A KB Kookmin Bank official stated, "We took immediate action according to the emergency branch operation process to protect the health of customers and employees and to prevent the spread of COVID-19," adding, "We will do our best to minimize inconvenience to customers."

Meanwhile, starting March 2, KB Kookmin Bank plans to shorten the operating hours of branches in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions by one hour, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in accordance with the joint financial labor-management declaration to prevent COVID-19 and overcome the crisis.