Kia plant hit with infections for second time this month

Kia Motors said Sunday three assembly line workers at one of its domestic plants tested positive for the new coronavirus, and a decision on whether to suspend the plant's operations will be made soon.

"The plant is not in operation as it is Sunday. The company will make a decision on whether to [temporarily] halt the Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong tomorrow," a company spokesman said over the phone.

Kia, the country's second-biggest carmaker, halted the operations of the Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi from Sept. 16 through 21, with all of the 6,000 employees at the plants staying at home.

The plant's operations returned to normal last week as no more infections were reported at the plants. Eleven assembly line workers were infected with the virus last time, with the number of related cases reaching 18.

The company did not provide the value of production losses due to the suspension. The two plants in Gwangmyeong have a combined capacity of 320,000 units a year.

Kia produces the K9 flagship sedan, the Stinger sports car and the Carnival minivan at the No. 1 plant in Gwangmyeong and the Pride subcompact and the Stonic subcompact SUV at the No. 2 plant.

Kia has eight plants in Korea — two in Gwangmyeong, three in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi and three in Gwangju — and seven overseas ones — three in China and one each in the United States, Slovakia, Mexico and India. Its overall capacity is 3.84 million units.

Yonhap