Samsung eases pandemic rules as Omicron is loosening its hold
The Samsung Electronics building in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul / Yonhap
Samsung Electronics on Monday eased health protocols meant to mitigate coronavirus transmission, as the Omicron wave appears to be in retreat and the country is trying to restore a semblance of normalcy.
The tech giant internally announced its relaxed guidelines earlier in the day about in-person meetings, mass gatherings and business trips.
Under the new policy, business trips at home and abroad, which had been allowed when only absolutely necessary, became fully permitted, and commute buses and corporate helicopters are running again.
Company lunches and after-hour dinners are permitted if the gathering does not exceed 10 people. A gathering of less than 300 employees is also permitted. Mass gatherings had been outright banned.
To contain the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron, however, Samsung keeps in place the indoor mask mandate, the policy of indoor capacity limit of 50 percent and other precautionary measures.
It also maintained remote working at the maximum of 50 percent of its workforce.
As Samsung, the world's largest memory chip and mobile phone maker, and other big businesses moved in the direction of ending pandemic restrictions, more Korean companies are expected to follow suit.
Last week, steel giant POSCO ended its remote working policy in its Seoul office in line with the government's relaxed social distancing rules to allow more people to gather indoors and businesses to operate longer hours.
The steelmaker exempted immunocompromised workers, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions from the rules.
To lessen office crowding, the company also put in place flexible working hours and the "smart office" system where workers do not necessarily go to their office and work from the nearest office branch instead.
Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia relaxed their policies on domestic business trips, trainings and meetings, while maintaining their remote working policy at 50 percent or more. They no longer require business travelers to get vaccinated.
Daily infection cases have been on the decline since reaching the peak of 621,180 on March 17.
The country reported less than 100,000 virus cases Monday for the first time in seven weeks, according to health authorities. (Yonhap)