South Korean Companies Seriously Affected by Wuhan Coronavirus

The Changwon Industrial Complex, which is home to a number of South Korean companies running component factories in China, is about to take a direct hit from the Wuhan coronavirus. The Chinese government shut down the operation of such factories until Feb. 9 and liquidity problems are likely to arise in the companies unless the operation is resumed on Feb. 10.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups had a meeting on Feb. 4 with about 20 South Korean companies doing business in Chinese regions such as Wuhan and the non-large companies expressed their concerns.

Some of the companies said that they were considering relocating their facilities to South Korea, adding that the South Korean government needs to consider providing tax incentives for companies returning from China.

Also, they said that a shortage of masks might delay the resumption of the operation. “At present, the Chinese government is prohibiting the operation of factories without masks and thermometers,” they said, adding, “With masks hard to come by at this moment, we need government assistance for more masks in the factories.”
 

A semiconductor company predicted that its production activities would get back on the track in June this year at the earliest with its engineers told to return to South Korea.