SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor shut down a factory in South Korea on Friday after a worker tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The factory in Ulsan builds SUVs such as the Palisade, Tucson, Santa Fe and Genesis GV80.

The closing dealt a fresh setback to Hyundai, which has gradually resumed production at local plants hit by a Chinese parts shortage in the wake of the virus outbreak.

South Korea has the most infected people outside China, affecting companies like Samsung and Hyundai. South Korea on Friday reported 256 new cases, bringing the total number of infected to 2,022, as the world prepared for a global recession.

"The company has also placed colleagues who came in close contact with the infected employee in self-quarantine and taken steps to have them tested for possible infection," Hyundai Motor said in a news release.

The automaker said it was disinfecting the factory. It did not say when production would resume.

Ulsan is less than an hour from Daegu, the epicenter of outbreak in Korea.