Business Trip Cancellations and Zoom Meetings... No Exceptions for Financial Leaders in 'High-Intensity Social Distancing' (Comprehensive)

Even Bank Managers Starting Remote Work with Social Distancing Raised to Level 4
Unnecessary Meetings Canceled or Switched to Virtual
Increasing Employee Remote Work Ratio and Banning All Gatherings

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seungseop] As the social distancing level in the Seoul metropolitan area was raised to Level 4, heads of financial institutions are minimizing their movements. Like regular employees, executives are also actively participating in working from home and distributed work.

According to the financial sector on the 14th, the president of a major commercial bank in City A has decided not to come to the office for the time being. The number of participants in internal face-to-face meetings has been limited to two, and it was judged unnecessary to risk exposure to COVID-19 by coming in. Executives have also decided to basically work from home unless there is an urgent matter. Work is conducted using company-issued laptops for remote work, and executive meetings are held via Zoom. Reports to the president are also received electronically without face-to-face contact for the time being.

In the case of Financial Institution B, all internal events and business trips that the holding company and president were scheduled to attend have been canceled. Executive meetings have been minimized and are planned to be switched to non-face-to-face formats. A representative of the financial institution said, “During Level 3, small-scale in-house events were possible, but now it has become difficult,” adding, “While Level 4 is maintained, it should be considered that senior executives will practically have no external activities.”

There have been disruptions and urgent rescheduling in business processes such as agreements and meetings with related organizations. Bank C’s president was scheduled to meet CEOs of other industries in person this week for a business agreement. However, due to the government’s escalation of social distancing levels, the schedule was urgently changed. The agreement ceremony is being discussed to be conducted online and non-face-to-face.

Bank D’s president took a one-week vacation starting next week. Although not a measure to comply with quarantine guidelines, it appears the extended leave was taken considering the COVID-19 situation.

Within the industry, it is considered unusual that heads of private financial institutions have started participating in working from home. Even during Level 3 social distancing, private banks implemented intensive distributed work, but it was common for executives including holding company chairpersons and presidents to come to the office.

Banks are paying close attention to avoid being labeled as a “COVID-19 hotspot” amid the rapid spread of the Delta variant and other strains. Financial institutions must comply with the authorities’ demands for strict quarantine guidelines. Also, if employees or executives at banks, where face-to-face work is frequent, test positive, work disruptions are inevitable. There is also a risk of image damage if confirmed cases surge at branches.

'Avoiding the 'COVID-19 Culprit' Label...High-Intensity Social Distancing from Regular Employees to Executives'

Citizens visiting the temporary screening clinic set up at Yeouido Plaza in Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

It is also analyzed that the recent occurrence of confirmed cases within financial institutions has influenced this. Recently, major institutions such as the Korea Exchange and the Korea Securities Depository in Yeouido simultaneously reported COVID-19 cases. Confirmed cases have also surged in private securities firms such as NH Investment & Securities, Eugene Investment & Securities, Ebest Investment & Securities, and Heungkuk Securities. As of the 12th, eight confirmed cases were reported at the headquarters of Woori Bank, including an executive at the vice president level.

Internal social distancing measures for employees have been further strengthened. KB Kookmin Bank had been “recommending” 30% of headquarters staff to work from home but has now strengthened this to “implementing” it. Gatherings and dinners, which were previously discouraged, have been upgraded to prohibited. Existing measures such as non-face-to-face training and minimizing floor movement remain in place.

Shinhan Bank increased the proportion of dual-location and remote workers from 15% to 40%. External visitors to the headquarters have been upgraded from controlled access to prohibited. The operation of the headquarters cafeteria has also been suspended.

Hana Bank also increased the proportion of distributed and remote work at headquarters from 30% to 40%. Face-to-face meetings are discouraged and, if unavoidable, are limited to fewer than 10 people or within 30% of the meeting room capacity.

Operating hours of branches located in the metropolitan area will also be shortened. From the 12th to the 23rd, while Level 4 social distancing is maintained, hours will be reduced by one hour from 9:00 AM?4:00 PM to 9:30 AM?3:30 PM. If the social distancing level remains at Level 3 or higher afterward, the measures will be extended.

However, unlike the confusion seen during the Level 3 escalation, there were relatively few reports of disorder. A representative of a commercial bank said, “Most regular employees, except essential personnel, have been working remotely since Level 3,” explaining, “As social distancing measures have prolonged, executives have also become accustomed to non-face-to-face communication methods.” Another banking industry official said, “Due to the nature of the company, executives often communicated and held meetings via video with overseas partners,” adding, “Executives adapted faster than expected.”

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