Hyundai Motor wins temporary nod to send staff to Beijing bases

The Hyundai Motor Group will operate three chartered flights to dispatch its employees to Beijing Sept. 3 and Sept. 4, after winning temporary approval from the Chinese government, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Sept. 3.

The approval was granted just as Beijing allowed eight countries -- Austria, Cambodia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Sweden and Taiwan -- where the rate of new coronavirus infections has slowed, to resume direct flights to Beijing from Sept. 3.

South Korea was not included on the list, as the country’s rate of new daily infections has remained at 200-300 levels for more than two weeks.

Using the chartered planes, Hyundai will send 600 employees and family members to its production bases in Beijing and nearby cities. Upon arrival at the Beijing airport, they will undergo a 14-day quarantine to comply with China’s disinfection rules, before transported to their homes or hotels.

The South Korean automotive group runs a research institute and four plants for Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., a joint venture with BAIC Motor Investment Co., in Beijing and nearby cities.

It was the first time for China to lift travel curbs for the eight designated countries since it imposed the restrictions in March to prevent import of the pandemic.

Since March, China has ordered foreign visitors to Beijing to be diverted to other airports and undergo a 14-day quarantine before taking a domestic flight to the capital.

The temporary approval for Hyundai came after China State Councilor Yang Jiechi, a senior advisory to Chinese President Xi Jinping, paid a recent visit to Seoul to discuss Xi’s state visit to South Korea and improving the relationship between the two countries.

In late April, China agreed on a fast-track entry system for South Korean businesspeople to some airports, under which Samsung flew chartered planes to send employees to Tianjin and other Chinese cities. But it has never allowed direct international flights to Beijing.

Meanwhile, South Korean ambassador to China Jang Ha-sung said the country is working to increase chartered flight operations this month to return Korean students and residents to China, according to Yonhap news.

Write to Hyun-woo Kang at hkang@hankyung.com


(Photo: Getty Images Bank)