Korean Stores and Factories Shut Down One After Another... Indefinite Business Suspension Due to Spread of 'Novel Coronavirus'

Korean Food Factories Temporarily Halt Operations Until Lunar New Year Holiday
Dining and Fashion Stores Suspend Operations... Reopening Uncertain

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), Korean companies in the food, dining, fashion, and cosmetics sectors operating locally have suspended operations at their factories and stores and entered emergency mode.

According to the industry on the 30th, it has been confirmed that there are no factories of Korean food companies near Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, China. However, Orion and Nongshim, which operate six and four factories respectively in Beijing and Shanghai, have temporarily halted factory operations until February 2nd due to the two-week-long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. They plan to resume operations after the holiday ends on February 2nd, but it is uncertain what government guidelines will be issued regarding this. Therefore, they are continuously monitoring the situation and closely watching developments. After resuming operations, they plan to strengthen personnel control as well as related quarantine inspections.

CJ Group, which operates about 20 factories in China, has formed a crisis management committee at its holding company to monitor the situation in China. The committee receives daily reports from each affiliate and has ordered 100,000 masks and 2,000 hand sanitizers for employees working in China.

Dining stores are also gradually suspending operations. Cheogajip Yangnyeom Chicken, which opened its first store in Wuhan, has suspended operations and temporarily halted discussions on opening the second and third stores. Paris Baguette, which operates about 300 stores mainly in Beijing and Shanghai but has no stores in Wuhan, has issued guidelines such as requiring employees to wear masks and providing hand sanitizers while monitoring the situation. News of global dining brands suspending operations is also coming in. McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut have closed most of their stores in Hubei Province. Starbucks has suspended operations at more than half of its 4,100 stores in China.

E-Land, which operates about 300 stores in shopping malls and department stores in Wuhan, has suspended most operations since the 24th in accordance with Chinese government measures. Since they must follow the authorities' decisions considering the local situation, the reopening date is uncertain. E-Land's local headquarters has also extended the Lunar New Year holiday, originally until February 2nd, to February 3rd. The headquarters has formed an emergency response team to monitor the situation in real time.

Shinsegae International, which operated one BOB and one Studio Tomboy store each in Wushang Plaza shopping mall in Wuhan, also closed its stores from the 24th, and its Shanghai branch is temporarily closed on its own. The reopening date is also uncertain.

All stores of Amorepacific, which operates various types of businesses such as road shops and shopping mall stores in Wuhan, are also closed. The Chinese branch will remain closed until February 9th.

An industry official said, "Korean companies operating in China usually kept their stores open even during the Lunar New Year period, but this time all operations have been suspended, and the reopening date is uncertain, so there will inevitably be a negative impact on sales."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.