Daegu Bank, 'COVID-19' Emergency Alert

Temporary Closure of Headquarters Due to Employee COVID-19 Case
Five Branches Also Temporarily Closed
91.7% of Branches Located in Key Areas Daegu and Gyeongbuk

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] DGB Daegu Bank is in an emergency due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). After an employee at the Bank's 1st Head Office in Suseong-gu, Daegu was confirmed positive, the main office building was temporarily closed, and branches where confirmed cases were found or visited are also temporarily closed.

As both the 1st and 2nd head offices are located in Daegu, the bank's hub city, and 92% of its branches are in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, concerns are rising about disruptions to Daegu Bank's first-quarter performance.

The company is focusing all efforts on responding to COVID-19, with Kim Tae-oh, Chairman of DGB Financial Group and CEO of Daegu Bank, serving as the Emergency Response Committee Chair.

According to the banking sector on the 1st, on the morning of the 28th of last month, an employee working at the Bank's 1st Head Office in Suseong-gu, Daegu, was confirmed positive for COVID-19, leading to the closure of the entire building.

Upon receiving the confirmation on the same day, Daegu Bank immediately closed the entire building and conducted disinfection work.

The Emergency Response Committee ordered about 700 head office employees to work from home that day, and the minimum essential personnel performing closing tasks wore protective gear while working.

Additional secondary disinfection of the head office building was carried out over the weekend, with plans to resume normal operations from the 2nd.

Currently, Daegu Bank has closed eight branches, including the Dongsan Hospital branch office, and has resumed operations at three branches (Seongseo Homeplus branch office, Dasa branch, Daegu City Hall Annex branch office) after disinfection.

Dongsan Hospital will continue to operate as a hub hospital until the COVID-19 situation ends, so the Daegu Bank branch office there will remain closed. All employees at the four branches currently closed (Catholic Hospital branch office, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital branch, Kyungpook National University Hospital branch, Daedeok branch) tested negative for COVID-19.

As of the end of January, Daegu Bank operates 221 branches (including branch offices) in Daegu and Gyeongbuk alone, accounting for 91.7% of its total 241 branches. Due to the expected economic downturn caused by COVID-19, a decline in performance seems inevitable.

Founded in 1967, Daegu Bank is one of the regional representative local banks along with Busan Bank, Gyeongnam Bank, and Jeonbuk Bank.

Daegu Bank stated, “We will continue to do our best to minimize the damage caused by COVID-19 and reduce inconvenience to our customers, striving to overcome COVID-19.”

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