Some bank branches shut by virus

Banks began shutting branches to avoid transmissions of the coronavirus, starting in Daegu.

KB Financial Group said Monday it would shut three of its retail branches in Daegu until Tuesday.

KB Kookmin Bank’s office and private banking center located in the Daegu building will be shut until Tuesday as a person working in that building, but not for KB, tested positive for the virus on Saturday. It will resume operations on Wednesday after a sterilization procedure.

Another KB Kookmin branch in Daegu’s Buk District was also shut after one of its staff was found to have contact with a confirmed patient. The bank will decide when to resume operations once test results for the staffer come in.

To compensate customers for the inconvenience, KB Kookmin Bank will offer commission discounts on transactions at ATMs or on online banking for customers in Daegu and North Gyeongsang.

Shinhan Bank also shut a branch in Jungwon District in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Monday after one of its staff was confirmed infected by the virus. Operations will resume on Wednesday. According to Shinhan, that staffer did not have face-to-face contact with customers during work hours.

Woori Bank shut two of its branches in Daejeon and Incheon after infected customers were found to have visited them. The patients visited the banks on Thursday and Friday respectively, and Woori found out this information on Sunday. The branches will resume operations on Wednesday.

NongHyup Bank shut an office and two branches in North Gyeongsang, Pohang and Daegu, on Monday. A sales department in North Gyeongsang had a confirmed patient in the same building, and confirmed patients visited the branches in Pohang and Daegu.

A bank spokesman said it would decide when to resume operations once the test results for the staff who came into contact with the customers come out.

Three NongHyup branches in Daegu that shut down last week due to visits from confirmed patients resumed operations Monday.

Hana Bank shut down Monday a branch in Pohang and a local office on the global campus of Kyung Hee University in Yongin, Gyeonggi.

The Pohang branch was visited by the confirmed patient on Thursday and will resume operations on Wednesday.

As Kyung Hee University decided to temporarily shut down a dormitory for Chinese students, the Hana Bank local office also had to close its doors until March 12.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]