Hong Nam-ki: "Starting Tomorrow, Masks Will Be Sold at Pharmacies Nationwide... 9 Million Masks Supplied Daily"

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, is leaving after concluding an emergency joint briefing on stabilizing mask supply held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 27th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced on the 27th, "We will ensure that more than 90% of the daily mask production is supplied domestically."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong held an emergency briefing at the Government Seoul Office in the afternoon and emphasized regarding mask supply amid the recent spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), "Since the total daily mask production of about 140 companies is around 10 million pieces, we will ensure that about 9 million pieces are supplied domestically each day."

First, more than 50% of the daily production will be supplied to public institutions such as Nonghyup, post offices, and pharmacies. Approximately 5 million masks will be supplied daily through about 1,900 Nonghyup Hanaro Marts outside the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas, 1,400 post offices in eup/myeon areas, public home shopping, the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center, and about 24,000 pharmacies nationwide that specialize in pharmaceutical distribution. Deputy Prime Minister Hong explained, "However, due to issues such as penalties under existing contracts, detailed negotiations between manufacturers and public sales outlets are ongoing, so it will take another day or two to establish a system to supply about 5 million masks normally."

As of 12 noon on the day, 5.13 million masks out of a total of 15 million were being shipped. Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "We plan to supply an average of 100 masks per store to about 24,000 pharmacies nationwide with high public accessibility, totaling 2.4 million masks," and added, "Starting from the 28th, we will first sell 1.2 million masks."

About 550,000 masks (approximately 300 masks per store) will be supplied daily to Nonghyup Hanaro Marts outside Seoul and Gyeonggi. Nonghyup Hanaro Marts are delivered nationwide through five logistics centers located in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi; Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon; Gumi-si, Gyeongbuk; Miryang-si, Gyeongnam; and Gwangju-si, and on this day, 170,000 masks were supplied to the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions first.

About 550,000 masks (approximately 400 masks per store) will also be supplied to post offices located in eup/myeon areas. Currently, contracts for about 470,000 masks have been completed. On this day, 150,000 masks were supplied to Daegu and Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongbuk, and nationwide supply will begin from tomorrow. Contracts for up to 370,000 masks have also been completed with public home shopping and the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center. Plans are in place to expand sales volume going forward.

Additionally, 1 million masks will be supplied daily separately to the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, where COVID-19 patients are rapidly increasing. A separate supply volume of 500,000 masks per day is also allocated for medical institutions.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong stated, "The selling price will be set at a level that includes the purchase price from producers plus transportation costs, etc.," and added, "It will be cheaper than the current market price."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.