South Korean executives receive COVID after Las Vegas Technology Fair | Economy

More than 30 Samsung Electronics and SK Group executives tested positive after the fair, according to industry sources.

The giant was attended by more than 30 officials from major South Korean companies CES Technology Fair In Las Vegas last week it was positive for COVID-19 while it was in the United States, industry sources and a company said on Wednesday.

About 20 Samsung Electronics officials and about six from the SK Group, the parent company of the energy company SK Innovation and the chip maker SK Hynix, were among those who tested positive for the virus after attending CES, sources said.

They refused to identify themselves because they were not allowed to speak to the media.

Hyundai Heavy Industries said the six employees who went to CES were positive in the U.S. and were in their forties, and some have since been released.

Meanwhile, “multiple” Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis officials who attended CES were also positive after returning to South Korea, South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported citing an unidentified industrial source without specifying the exact number of cases.

“Many Korean businessmen who went to CES have confirmed that they are infected with COVID-19,” Son Young-rae, a senior South Korean health official, said in a speech.

“We are in contact with those who attended the event and are conducting epidemiological investigations, but we urge home business owners or those who attended the event to perform PCR tests as soon as possible,” he said.

Most positive Samsung officials have returned from Nevada to Korea on two flights, Seoul will arrive late on Tuesday, and the rest of Samsung’s officials are expected to return on Wednesday, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported, citing the unidentified. industrial sources.

Samsung officials are being taken to forty facilities in South Korea and most were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, the newspaper said.

A CES operator spokesperson for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) received no immediate response.

Infections contracted abroad

According to Nevada state health officials, “many new cases have had a recent history of travel, attended events, and visited various sites that could be infected.” They said they “have no evidence linking the recent rise in COVID-19 cases to CES.”

Samsung Electronics does not want to confirm the details of the cases. He said he “took some steps (CES) to protect the health and well-being of the participants,” including vaccinations, mask orders, social exclusion protocols, and offering tests to all employees throughout the week.

The SK Group declined to comment, citing its policy of not disclosing personal information. Hyundai Motor Group did not respond to a number of comments.

South Korea reported 381 cases of foreign-contracted infections on Tuesday, a record, according to the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency, bringing the number of daily infections across the country to 4,388.

Son Health Ministry officials said that the rise in infections contracted abroad is mainly due to the spread of the Omicron variant, although it was positively affected by the number of CES participants.