Business Trips All Stop, Video Conferences Increase... Companies Endure with 'Goyukjichek' as a Last Resort

Companies Endure with Desperate Measures Amid COVID-19 Spread; Prolonged Crisis Likely to Worsen Damage

[Asia Economy Reporters Changhwan Lee and Jihui Kim] #Samsung Electronics will increase remote meetings such as video conferences and messenger meetings with its local subsidiary in Vietnam starting this week. This is a countermeasure following Vietnam's sudden ban last week on visa-free entry for Korean nationals.

Vietnam is Samsung's largest overseas production base, and with business trips becoming virtually impossible, this is a kind of desperate measure. A Samsung Electronics official said, "For business trips that are absolutely necessary, employees will obtain visas and go, but for now, we are limiting trips to Vietnam and increasing video conferences as a response."

#Vendor A, a first-tier supplier of a core affiliate of the four major conglomerates, is a place where damage snowballs if factory operations stop. Therefore, even in emergencies, they operate emergency personnel by reserving one-third of employees, including deputy factory managers, as backups to keep the factory running.

In particular, from the 2nd, all employees below the team leader level were switched to work from home. If a COVID-19 patient emerges or self-quarantine is required among team leaders or higher who work on-site, the work-from-home team will go to the site.

As the spread of COVID-19 intensifies, Korean companies are barely holding on by increasing remote meetings or work-from-home instead of business trips and minimizing production plant personnel.

According to the industry on the 2nd, LG Electronics, which has a mobile phone production subsidiary in Vietnam, banned business trips to Vietnam entirely from the 27th of last month. Until then, it was a restricted travel area, but as the Vietnamese government strengthened its COVID-19 response, employee trips were prohibited.

LG Electronics also strengthened remote meetings such as video and phone conferences. An LG Electronics official explained, "Vietnam was a restricted travel area from early February, but now it is completely banned. We have to follow the local country's guidelines, so this is an unavoidable choice."

Companies are limiting business trips while increasing work-from-home and minimizing operating personnel even on production lines that are difficult to stop due to the nature of manufacturing, to prepare for virus spread.

Hyundai Motor Company is encouraging employees to refrain from overseas business trips and is conducting work-from-home. If overseas trips are unavoidable, approval from a head of division-level executive is required. Until the 6th, departments can conduct work-from-home to completely block the possibility of COVID-19 spread.

Hyundai Motor has already suspended operation of gyms and swimming pools where many employees gather. For production lines where work-from-home is impossible, a more thorough quarantine system is in place according to a special labor-management agreement made at the end of last month.

By marking bus numbers on company shuttle buses, if a confirmed case occurs on a bus, passengers can be immediately identified. After the first confirmed case occurred last week inside the factory, Hyundai Motor completely halted operations at Ulsan Plant 2, and after disinfection, plans to resume operations from this day.

Hyundai Oilbank minimized production line personnel. Until now, the company formed production line teams of 10 to 20 people, but after the COVID-19 outbreak, they reorganized into small teams of 3 to 4 people and deployed them on-site. This is a measure to minimize the possibility of infection among workers. Also, access to key areas such as control rooms managing refining facilities is strictly restricted to only the assigned workers.

Companies are currently holding on with desperate measures but are greatly concerned about the prolonged COVID-19 situation. Therefore, business leaders have requested the government to take more active steps to minimize corporate damage.

A senior official in the business community pointed out, "For companies with important business meetings or major overseas contract bids scheduled, the government should create selective special measures for businesspeople to allow overseas business trips," adding, "It is urgent to establish a system to manage essential personnel at the national level."

For example, it is suggested to designate nationally certified medical institutions to conduct COVID-19 tests for businesspeople who must travel overseas, issue certification documents, and submit them to the destination country to allow entry.

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