But Hyundai, along with other automakers, is also suffering from parts shortages as they import many auto parts from China. The automaker said it resumed production from Monday. Hyundai Motor, the largest automaker in the country, closed its second factory in the southeastern city of Ulsan, which mainly produces sport-utility vehicles, on Friday after an employee was confirmed to have the virus. The company resumed production on Sunday evening after authorities quarantined the production line. Samsung also had to shut down its smartphone factory in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on Saturday, after an employee there was confirmed to have been infected by the virus. The company also adopted an online voting system for the meeting to help shareholders exercise their rights without visiting the meeting in person. Samsung Electronics, South Korea's biggest conglomerate by market capitalization, moved the venue for its general shareholders' meeting to a convention center in Suwon from its Seoul office to minimize risks to its business. K-pop band Super Junior, meanwhile, announced on Friday that it is postponing indefinitely two concerts in Japan originally scheduled for late March due to the Japanese government's travel restrictions.Įven South Korea's economic giants are not immune to the impacts of the coronavirus, which had infected nearly 6,300 people in South Korea, the most outside of China, and killed 42 as of Friday. South Korean soldiers in protective gear sanitize a shopping street in Seoul on March 4. Sales from Japanese routes accounted for 10% of its passenger business revenue in the third quarter. Japan still matters to us, even though its share decreased last year due to the political tensions between the two countries," said a spokesman for the airline. 2 full-service carrier, said it is considering cutting flights to Japan in response. Seoul on Friday said it will consider "reciprocal" measure in response.Īsiana Airlines, South Korea's No. Tokyo announced on Thursday it would ban foreign visitors from the hardest-hit areas of South Korea and Iran. On Monday, Eastar Holdings sold its 51.17% stake in the airline to Jeju Air, South Korea's largest budget carrier, for 54.5 billion won ($45.8 million), far lower than the expected price.Ī spat over travel bans between the Japanese and South Korean governments has only darkened the outlook for airlines and other businesses. We tried some measures, such the government's emergency fund and financial institutions' aid, but they were not enough to resolve our problems," Choi said.Įastar was already on rocky ground, with analysts predicting the company had fallen to a loss in 2019 after seeing profit plunge 88% the year before. "Corona-19 has pushed our company into its worst crisis. "So, this - the trajectory of what we're looking at over the weeks and months ahead is very uncertain. But many of the steps that we have taken over the past 15 years to prepare for pandemic influenza and our experience going through the 2009 H1N1 pandemic of influenza remind us of the kinds of steps our health care system, our businesses, our communities and schools may need to take," Schuchat said.Last week, Choi Jong-koo, CEO of budget airline Eastar Jet, sent a letter to employees explaining why the company was only able to pay them 40% of their wages. She said the future is uncertain, but assured the public that steps have been taken to prepare for such outbreaks. "Tt's the perfect time for businesses, health care systems, universities, and schools to look at their pandemic preparedness plans, dust them off, and make sure that they're ready," she said. Schuchat urged Americans to prepare for the virus as well as schools and businesses. "Our aggressive containment strategy here in the United States has been working, and it is responsible for the low levels of cases that we have so far. However, we do expect more cases. And this is a good time to prepare," she said.