37 wiring harness suppliers, which had stopped their production due to the spread of the new coronavirus, have resumed their operation as of Monday. It is expected that Hyundai Motor Company, which has also stopped its production due to a difficulty in obtaining necessary parts, will resume its production as of the 11th. South Korean Government’s omnidirectional effort to minimize damages to the automotive industry has stood out.
According to Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the automotive industry, 37 wiring harness suppliers out of 40 of them have resumed their operation as of Monday.
Because significant number of local governments in China extended the Chinese New Year holiday from the 3rd to the 9th due to the spread of the new coronavirus within China, wiring harness makers stopped their production until the 5th. Wiring harness is like a vessel that is attached to a car during an early part of assembly process. Hyundai Motor Company receives most of wiring harnesses from its partners in China. However, it has suffered a setback regarding the supply of wiring harnesses due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
“With a sense of duty to help our companies resume their operation at the beginning of this week, we have continuously had discussions with Chinese Government and local governments and conveyed our situation.” said a representative for MOTIE. “Because our country has had a friendly relationship with China for a long period of time and we were basically the only country that has made earnest requests regarding early operation of factories within China, we believe that the negotiation between us and China has come to a smooth agreement.”

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27 wiring harness makers in China resumed their operation limitedly as of the 9th. To prevent epidemics, Chinese Government only allowed companies that have equipped their production facilities with masks, hand sanitizers, and thermometers and implemented extra measures for the commute of their employees resume their operation. However, it is expected that it will take some time before these wiring harness makers can have normal operation.
Parts that are produced have been transported to South Korea through planes and ships since last week and some supplies of parts also came to South Korea on Monday. Chinese auto parts makers are currently supplying their products for cars that need to be manufactured urgently.
“We are going to continue to have discussions with local governments in China regarding factories that have yet to resume their productions so that every auto parts factory in China can resume its production without any setback.” said a representative for MOTIE. “Along with automotive manufacturers, we are going to devote all of our energy into rapid customs clearance, emergency financial support, and monitoring of factories in China so that auto parts makers can set up preventive systems and do not suffer any setback regarding transporting their products to South Korea.”
“We have resumed operations of our Ulsan factory 2 and Hwaseong factory.” said a representative for Hyundai Motor Company. “However, we are planning to adjust outputs depending on the supply of parts.”
Staff Reporter Park, Taejoon | gaius@etnews.com & Staff Reporter Choi, Jaepil | jpchoi@etnews.com