Hyundai Motor Leaps Forward Using COVID-19 Crisis as a Stepping Stone... Publishes 'COVID-19 White Paper'

Hyundai Motor Recognized as Model in Auto Industry for Overcoming COVID-19
Cumulative 47,000 Cases at Domestic Sites
Maintained Domestic Plant Operation Rates through Quarantine Management
Changed Global Auto Production Country Rankings

Hyundai Motor Company has published a ‘Corona White Paper’ documenting its efforts over the past three years to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, Hyundai Motor Group’s domestic business sites recorded a cumulative total of about 47,000 confirmed cases during the pandemic phase, earning recognition as a model for quarantine management systems in the global automotive industry.

On the 31st, Hyundai Motor Group released the white paper titled ‘Three Years of Records to Overcome COVID-19.’ This is the first time a private company has published a white paper documenting its own quarantine efforts. Previously, Kakao published a COVID-related white paper, but it mainly focused on services provided and support activities for society.

According to the white paper, as of March this year, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at Hyundai Motor’s domestic business sites was 47,786. Compared to the approximately 30 million cumulative confirmed cases nationwide, this represents about 0.15% (including overlapping reinfections).

An impressive aspect of the report is Hyundai Motor’s response at its domestic factories in the early days of the COVID outbreak. In March 2020, when factories of global automotive brands in Europe and the United States were closing one after another due to COVID, the number of confirmed cases at Hyundai Motor’s domestic factories was only 124. At that time, Hyundai Motor’s domestic factories were among the few global manufacturing plants that continued operating steadily without interruption.

Through such thorough quarantine management, the ranking of global automobile production countries was reversed. South Korea, which had consistently ranked 5th, rose to 4th place as domestic factory operating rates were maintained in the first half of 2020. It is evaluated that the rapid establishment of a response system to the unexpected outbreak of infectious disease enabled the maintenance of production volume.

In February 2020, Hyundai Motor established an emergency response system for COVID-19 and began operating a control tower, the comprehensive situation room. Each department appointed a COVID response officer to enable confirmation of infection status within minutes. They established their own epidemiological investigation process and strictly restricted external visitors to business sites. A remote work environment was created, and only essential personnel were allowed to work on-site. An in-house testing center was set up at the Ulsan plant, and meal times were divided into two shifts to minimize direct contact among personnel.

From 2021, the pandemic phase shifted to vaccination. At this time, the key was how quickly and extensively companies could secure vaccines for their employees. Hyundai Motor swiftly secured vaccines and encouraged vaccination not only for employees but also for partner company staff. As of October 2021, the first-dose vaccination rate among employees at Hyundai Motor’s Yangjae headquarters reached 87%.

Hyundai Motor plans to distribute this white paper to related organizations such as the Korea Employers Federation, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Seocho District Office to share it as a guideline for similar infectious disease outbreaks. Jang Jae-hoon, President of Hyundai Motor, said, “We have worked hard not only on social contribution activities to prevent further spread among local confirmed cases, medical staff, and vulnerable groups but also for the safety of the local community. We expect Hyundai Motor’s efforts to overcome COVID-19 to be used as a manual for overcoming post-COVID crises.”

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