SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free is introducing telecommuting (working from home) for staff at its Myeong-dong, Seoul headquarters from tomorrow (28 February) until 6 March in a bid to prevent its team catching or spreading COVID-19.
As reported, South Korea has seen a surge in confirmed cases over the past week. As of 9am this morning Korean time, 1,595 cases had been confirmed, a rise of 334 day-on-day.
The telecommuting initiative is a first, albeit an unwelcome one, for the duty free industry.
All employees at headquarters, except for a minimum number required for emergency responses, will telecommute. The initial period may be extended if the disease continues to spread.
“Lotte Duty Free is doing its best to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and safeguard the health of our customers and employees,” said Lotte Duty Free CEO Kap Lee. “We will extend our response depending on guidelines from the authorities and how the virus spread continues.”
Lotte Duty Free said that it has also minimised opening hours and employee numbers since 4 February.
The retailer created an emergency response committee on 24 January headed by Kap Lee as Chairman. Lotte Duty Free is conducting stringent health and safety measures, including the disinfecting of its stores more than six times a day. In addition to mandating the wearing of masks by all employees, the retailer also provides masks to customers using the store.
