Samsung, LG to send engineers to Vietnam upon govt. permission

Affiliates of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will send a total of 430 engineers to Vietnam in order to support their plants’ operations there, as the Vietnamese government has decided to exempt Korean staff from its two-week quarantine policy, according to industry sources Tuesday.

Samsung Display will dispatch 180 engineers via a chartered flight from Asiana Airlines to Bac Ninh in northern Vietnam on Saturday, a source said.

The engineers will stay in a quarantine facility established exclusively for Samsung employees in the vicinity of the company’s plant in the city.

“The company has prepared to prevent the engineers from contacting local employees during work hours,” the source said.

The panel maker was planning to dispatch around 700 engineers, including some from subcontractors, and asked the Vietnamese government to exempt its employees from the mandatory quarantine system.

The Vietnamese government started banning arrivals of all foreigners on Feb. 22. It has suspended visa-free travel for Koreans since Feb. 29 and has stopped issuing new work visas in order to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus.

Those engineers will support the ongoing ramp-up at Samsung Display’s organic light-emitting diode module line. The OLED module line is in need of a capacity expansion due to growing demand from parent company Samsung Electronics for various products, including smartphones.

LG Electronics and affiliates including LG Innotek and LG Display will also send a total of 250 on Monday to Hai Phong, using a chartered Asiana flight.

The employees will be staying at a hotel designated by LG’s Vietnam head office for two weeks.

They will be assigned to support the development and manufacture of smartphones, automotive parts and home appliances.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)