Large corporations in South Korea are returning to full-blown pandemic mode, ordering employees to work remotely as the country braces for the fourth, and so far worst, wave of COVID-19 to hit.

The government announced the strictest Level 4 distancing rules for Seoul and its surrounding areas to take effect from Monday, including a ban on gatherings of three or more persons after 6 p.m. and all schools moving online. The measure came after the country’s daily COVID-19 caseload rose to an all-time high of 1,316.

Large firms reacted swiftly to the looming fourth wave of virus infections.

SK Corp., the holding firm of SK Group, and battery maker SK Innovation were among the first to switch completely to remote work, excluding those deemed essential staff.

LG Group decided Thursday to move up a notch in its work-from-home policy to 50 percent remote from the previous 40 percent. From Monday, all business trips, meetings with external personnel and job training that requires gathering is to be banned, the conglomerate said.

Samsung Electronics is expected to soon unveil its own measures. The IT giant had not yet made virus precautions a companywide rule, leaving that up to teams and divisions to decide.

Some companies that run large-scale manufacturing facilities here are scheduled to begin the vaccination of their factory workers at in-house clinics near the end of this month.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)