Normal Work and In-Person Classes Canceled One After Another... COVID-19 Fear Spreads from Itaewon Club

On the 10th, when Seoul City issued a 'gathering ban order' for all entertainment facilities in Seoul following the Itaewon club COVID-19 cluster infection incident, a gathering ban notice was posted at the Itaewon club in Seoul, which was known to have been visited by confirmed cases. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) originating from Itaewon clubs continues, companies and universities are successively withdrawing their plans for normal work and face-to-face classes.

Naver announced on the 10th that it would abandon its plan to resume normal work starting on the 11th and maintain the existing shift work system (commuting twice a week). Naver's headquarters in Bundang-gu, Gyeonggi Province, is located only about 2.8 km away from TmaxSoft's headquarters in Yongin City, where confirmed cases number 66 and 67 are employed.

Kakao, located in Pangyo, also abandoned its plan for normal commuting on the 11th and decided to extend the current rotational work system, which requires commuting once a week, for an additional week. They plan to decide on further extensions during the week depending on the resurgence situation.

KakaoBank closed its outsourced call center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 9th and decided to have all employees work from home. This measure was taken following the occurrence of confirmed cases among call center staff.

Kookmin University decided to maintain non-face-to-face classes for some courses that were scheduled to switch to face-to-face classes starting on the 11th. The university's COVID-19 Emergency Response Committee stated in an urgent notice posted on the school website, "Since the cluster infection at Itaewon clubs in early May, the COVID-19 situation has rapidly worsened," and announced, "Face-to-face classes scheduled for the 9th week (May 11?16) are temporarily postponed or canceled."

Medical institutions where confirmed patients worked are also on high alert. Seongnam Medical Center closed its operating rooms on the 8th after a nurse tested positive, and Yeongdeungpo Hospital in Seoul, with 200 beds, also closed after an employee was confirmed positive. Jeju The Goun Hospital, where a confirmed patient worked, and a psychiatric hospital in Incheon, where a confirmed patient was admitted, have also initiated emergency disinfection and other quarantine measures.

The Financial Supervisory Service closed the 6th floor where an employee whose family member was confirmed positive worked, as well as common areas including the 20th-floor cafeteria, basement level 1, and the 9th floor.

LG Uplus decided to close its headquarters for three days starting on the 11th after an employee who visited a pub in Itaewon tested positive for COVID-19.

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