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| Attendees wander around the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 25, 2019. LG Electronics said Wednesday it will withdraw from the 2020 MWC event due to worries over coronavirus. AP-Yonhap |
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Electronics has decided not to join the Mobile World Congress (MWC), a mobile trade fair scheduled to be held in Barcelona from Feb. 24 to 27, as worries surrounding new type of coronavirus continue to grow, the company said Wednesday.
The South Korean tech firm said it will not open its promotion booth at the world's largest mobile fair due to the spread of Wuhan coronavirus, but added it will keep its scheduled business meetings with buyers at the exhibition.
In Barcelona, LG was supposed to unveil its new premium smartphone lineup, along with other products, but decided to cancel the unveiling due to the spread of the new virus. The company added it will create another opportunity to introduce its mobile products.
"LG Electronics is closely monitoring the situation related to the coronavirus outbreak, which was recently declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization as the virus continues to spread outside China. With the safety of its employees, partners and customers foremost in mind, LG has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in MWC 2020 later this month in Barcelona, Spain," the company said in a statement.
"In lieu of its participation in the MWC, LG will be holding separate events in the near future to announce its 2020 mobile products," the company added.
Given Chinese telecommunications equipment firm ZTE announced the same day that it will withdraw from the event, their decisions may trigger a domino effect that will lead to other firms pulling out of the fair.
LG Uplus, a telecommunications affiliate of LG Group, also cancelled a media conference which was to be led by its CEO Ha Hyun-hwoi.
SK Telecom, Korea's largest mobile carrier, also cncelled its scheduled press conference with its CEO Park Jung-ho.
"We decided not to hold a press conference at the MWC late Tuesday but we will keep our promotional booth at the fair," an SK Telecom official said. "Instead, we will send emails about what we are planning to promote to media in Barcelona."
KT, the No.2 mobile carrier here, and Samsung Electronics said they will proceed as scheduled adding they are closely watching the situation regarding the new coronavirus.
"KT will proceed with the event as planned, though some Korean companies such as LG Electronics announced changes in their schedule. We are closely monitoring the ongoing situation," a KT official said.
Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, also announced that its plan to make its first appearance at the MWC has not changed, adding it is thoroughly assessing the impact of the virus.
While companies are withdrawing from the MWC, the event organizer Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) said these have had a minimal impact on the event and the fair will proceed as planned.
In its official statement released on Feb. 4, GSMA said it "continues to monitor and assess the potential impact of the Coronavirus on its MWC20 events."
"The GSMA confirms that there is minimal impact on the event thus far. MWC Barcelona 24-27 February 2020, will proceed as planned," the organizer said.
Instead of cancelling the event, the organizer has set up measures to help mitigate the spread of the virus. It said its measures in place include an "increased cleaning and disinfection programme across all high-volume touchpoints," as well as "increased onsite medical support," and an "awareness campaign via online and onsite info-share and signage."
Due to the worries over the deadly virus, major carriers in Europe such as British Airways and Air France have suspended all flights to mainland China.
However, fears over the virus are not likely to be mitigated as some 250 Chinese tech firms such as Huawei, Xiaomi and Baidu will take part in the event. Over 30,000 visitors from China will join the event because firms unable to join the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas in January ― due to the trade friction with the United States ― are focusing on the MWC to promote their products and technologies.
Because of coronavirus-related concerns, IT event organizers are cancelling their scheduled shows in Korea as well.
SEMICON Korea, the country's largest fair in the semiconductor business, cancelled its Feb. 5 to 7 event because of the spread of the virus. "SEMI made the decision out of an abundance of caution as the novel coronavirus continues to spread. The decision is consistent with that of a number of exhibitors and other organizations scheduled to attend the event not to send key representatives," the organizer said.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy decided to cancel the Korea Innovation Industry Exhibition, a Korean version of the Consumer Electronics Show, which was supposed to kick off Feb. 17.
Esports events such as Riot Games' League of Legends competition will proceed in Seoul without live audiences as coronavirus fears are affecting the nation.
