'Pangyo' Stops Again Amid the Second Wave of COVID-19

Naver and Kakao Shift to Remote Work, Nexon Strengthens Rotational Work System
NC and Netmarble to Resume Normal Commute First and Monitor COVID Trends
Mid-sized Game Companies Like Wemade Also Implement Remote Work System

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] "With the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rapidly increasing again, I felt uneasy about taking public transportation to work, but since the company has not yet decided whether to switch to a work-from-home system, I came to work in Pangyo today for now."

On the morning of the 18th, Kim, an employee of a game company in the Pangyo Techno Valley area, could not hide his anxiety about the second wave of COVID-19 as he headed to the office with heavy steps. While the Pangyo area, which had been regaining vitality as the spread of COVID-19 had slowed down, showed a quieter atmosphere than usual on the first workday after the holiday, due to concerns about signs of a second wave of COVID-19.

As COVID-19 is spreading again mainly in the Seoul metropolitan area including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) companies are gradually switching to work-from-home systems. Although there have been no confirmed cases within the companies, this is a preemptive measure taken as a precaution. The two major portals, Naver and Kakao, switched back to a work-from-home system on the 14th. This was just fifteen days after returning to normal work at the beginning of this month. After a confirmed COVID-19 case occurred at a Chinese restaurant in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Naver decided to continue full work-from-home until the end of this month, and Kakao also decided to operate with company-wide remote work for the time being. Kakao stated, "A confirmed COVID-19 case occurred at a commercial building near the Kakao Pangyo office, and it was judged to be a nearby area closely related to the living area of Kakao crew."

Among the three major game companies 3N (Nexon, NCSoft, Netmarble), Nexon was the first to change its system from coming to the office four days a week and working from home one day, to coming to the office three days a week and working from home two days. However, NCSoft located in Pangyo and Netmarble located in Guro, Seoul, will continue normal attendance until this day and observe the spread of COVID-19 before deciding whether to switch to a work-from-home system. An NCSoft official said, "We are closely monitoring the current COVID-19 spread situation, but the introduction of a work-from-home system has not yet been decided." Netmarble also said, "There have been no changes related to switching to a work-from-home system due to COVID-19 so far."

Mid-sized game companies are also gradually adopting work-from-home systems. Wemade, located in Pangyo, started working from home from this day, and NHN and Pearl Abyss will decide whether to switch to a work-from-home system after observing the future spread of COVID-19. A Wemade official said, "Due to growing concerns about the re-spread of COVID-19, we have inevitably started a work-from-home system." An NHN official said, "The decision to switch to a work-from-home system has not yet been made, and we are maintaining the 'Wednesday Office' system, where employees can work from home, cafes, shared offices, or other preferred locations only on Wednesdays."

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