MWC Hit Hard by 'New Coronavirus'... Consecutive No-Shows and Event Reductions (Comprehensive)

LG Electronics Makes Unusual Decision to Cancel Participation

2019 MWC LG Electronics Booth View

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The world's largest mobile exhibition, Mobile World Congress (MWC2020), has been directly hit by the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia). With 100,000 people gathering annually and significant participation from Chinese smartphone manufacturers and carriers, domestic and international companies concerned about the spread of infection are canceling or scaling down their event participation one after another.

On the 5th, LG Electronics announced the cancellation of its participation in the MWC2020 exhibition, scheduled to be held from the 24th to the 27th (local time) in Barcelona, Spain. LG Electronics had planned to unveil strategic smartphones such as the LG V60 ThinQ and LG G9 ThinQ for the first time at MWC, but due to the spread of the novel coronavirus and concerns for the safety of employees and customers, it made a sudden decision to cancel.

It was not an easy decision for LG Electronics, which has attended the MWC every year since the 2000s without holding separate unpacking events and has unveiled new products there. By deciding to cancel everything from the new product launch event planned during the MWC period to the booth exhibition, LG Electronics now faces the burden of cancellation costs. LG Electronics plans to conduct meetings with global carriers originally scheduled in other ways and will hold a new product launch event later after monitoring the spread of the novel coronavirus.

An LG Electronics official explained, "For global exhibitions, negotiations on venue usage fees are finalized at the end of the previous year's exhibition, and costs do not decrease if already contracted accommodations or flights for employees are canceled," adding, "This decision was made considering the safety of employees and customers, and negotiations regarding cancellation costs are proceeding smoothly. There should be no problem attending next year's event."

SK Telecom booth operated at MWC2019 held last year

SK Telecom also canceled the planned press conference with President Park Jung-ho and decided to operate only the MWC exhibition booth. Business meetings with overseas companies on-site will proceed as scheduled, but participation in MWC will be with minimal on-site staff. An SK Telecom official said, "We decided to cancel the CEO press conference, and the number of employee business trips will be significantly reduced compared to before." LG Uplus also decided to cancel the press conference with Vice Chairman Ha Hyun-hoe planned at MWC.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE also abruptly canceled its media briefing scheduled for the 25th (local time). ZTE had planned to unveil a new flagship 5G smartphone and infrastructure demonstrations at this MWC but will participate only in booth exhibitions.

With more than 20,000 confirmed cases worldwide and increasing cases in Europe, the number of companies declaring non-participation is expected to grow. The organizer, the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), stated its intention to proceed with the MWC event as scheduled. GSMA advised attendees not to shake hands, placed disinfecting equipment and cleaning tools throughout the venue, and announced plans to increase on-site medical staff.

GSMA said, "We will continuously remind attendees of hygiene-related recommendations such as no handshakes," adding, "We will encourage attendees to wear masks, disinfect microphones when speakers pass them, and comply with WHO restrictions such as arriving early in Spain to undergo quarantine."

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