"Return Korean Business Trip Employees"...Foreign IT Company in Turmoil Over Martial Law Fallout

Recommendation for Remote Work and Event Cancellations
Headquarters Launches Crisis Response Team
Monitoring Domestic Situation... Alert to Impact

Foreign IT companies are greatly unsettled by the unprecedented situation of President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law and its lifting within six hours. Some companies have ordered their employees visiting Korea to return urgently, recommended remote work, or canceled major events. Global companies perceive this incident as a risk comparable to a wartime situation and are closely monitoring its impact on their business and external activities in Korea.

On the morning of the 4th, when President Yoon Suk-yeol declared the lifting of martial law through an emergency national address, a foreign tourist was passing by an anti-martial law rally at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the IT industry on the 4th, Microsoft (MS) ordered employees from its headquarters and overseas branches who were visiting Korea to return immediately after the martial law was declared. Korean MS employees were notified to refrain from going out and attending offline meetings. It is unusual to recommend remote work due to a political issue. MS also abruptly canceled the 'AI Transformation Week' event scheduled for that morning. Since the event was to be held in Yeouido, this measure is interpreted as a safety precaution. Instead of proceeding with the event, MS focused on sharing the situation with headquarters and checking risks.

IBM, considering that its office is located in Yeouido, immediately switched to a remote work system. A crisis management team composed of headquarters and Korea IBM executives was activated to monitor the situation and discuss whether to return to normal office attendance in the future.

SAP Korea also formed a crisis response team at the headquarters level. Since most employees were already working remotely, no additional notice was issued, but they are monitoring the situation and preparing necessary countermeasures.

President Yoon Suk-yeol announced in an emergency address at 4:30 a.m. on the 4th that the martial law declared last night will be lifted in response to the National Assembly's request. The photo shows President Yoon's emergency address being broadcast on a TV in the Seoul Station waiting area.

Instagram, after careful consideration, proceeded with the scheduled '2024 Year-End Review Press Conference' as planned. Kim Jin-ah, Meta Korea’s representative, stated, "We discussed whether to hold the event until dawn, but after confirming that the situation had somewhat ended, we decided to proceed with the event."

Although the martial law has been lifted, foreign IT companies are not relaxing their vigilance. Especially as events related to new technologies, including generative AI, are increasing, they are concerned about the impact of political instability on business and external activities.

An industry insider said, "In the special security situation with North Korea, when foreign media urgently reported the news of the martial law declaration, overseas perceived it as a wartime situation," adding, "Inquiries about the situation are flooding in from business units in various countries, including headquarters."