Samsung Electronics trials work-from-home as South Korea battles virus resurgence – official

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd plans to allow some workers in South Korea to work from home in September under a pilot programme, a company official said on Thursday, as the country battles a resurgence in novel coronavirus cases.

Some employees at Samsung's mobile phone and consumer electronics divisions are eligible to apply for the programme, which is aimed at assessing whether to adopt work-from-home more widely, and if so, how to do so, the official said.

South Korea reported 441 new COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, the highest number of daily infections since early March, with most cases occurring in the Seoul metropolitan area, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

Samsung has seen a series of novel coronavirus cases involving its workers at its sites in or near Seoul in recent weeks.

Earlier this week, an employee at Samsung's mobile division tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the company to temporarily close one of its buildings at its headquarters in the city of Suwon, south of Seoul.

Samsung, which makes chips, displays, smartphones and other devices in South Korea, said production has not been affected by the coronavirus resurgence.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher Cushing)