Samsung Electronics Co. on March 6 said it will temporarily move some of its smartphone production to Viet Nam, after shutting down a local factory following a positive coronavirus test there, according to the Yonhap news agency of the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Illustrative image (Photo: AFP)

Samsung shut down the factory in the southeastern city of Gumi after a worker tested positive for the new coronavirus. It said the plant will be closed through March 7, while the floor where the employee worked will be shuttered through March 8.

Samsung's premium smartphones, the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Note 10, for the domestic market were being mostly produced in Gumi. Its plant in Viet Nam will put out up to 200,000 smartphones a month and they will be shipped to South Korea beginning late this month, according to Samsung.

Samsung currently runs smartphone factories in Viet Nam's Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen provinces. They account for half of the company's smartphone shipment worldwide.

The world's largest smartphone maker has so far reported six virus-infected workers at its production sites in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, only about 50 kilometers north of Daegu, the epicenter of South Korea's virus outbreak.

Currently the RoK counts 6,593 people infected with COVID-19.

(Source: VNA)