Government, Party, and Cheong Agree to Nearly Eliminate Mask Exports and Encourage Weekend Production

Lee Nak-yeon, Standing Election Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, are attending the COVID-19 response party-government meeting held at the National Assembly on the 4th, and are talking during the meeting. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kang Nahum and Jeon Jinyoung] The Democratic Party, the government, and the Blue House have decided to nearly eliminate the export volume of masks and encourage production companies to operate on weekends in response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis. They also plan to increase the public sale of masks through pharmacies.

On the 4th, Lee Nak-yeon, Chairman of the Democratic Party's COVID-19 Disaster Countermeasure Safety Committee, stated at a briefing held immediately after the 1st COVID-19 Response Party-Government-Blue House meeting in the Democratic Party leader's conference room at the National Assembly, "We will devise all possible measures to increase production volume."

Lee added, "We will devise various measures to improve the fairness and efficiency of mask distribution," and said, "By doing so, we will minimize 'queueing,' such as preventing duplicate purchases and lining up."

Lee also mentioned the use of the Drug Utilization Review (DUR) system for mask supply management. He said, "There is a system called DUR that secures and shares citizens' drug information," and added, "We have decided to include masks in the DUR target for management as part of the measures."

Kim Sang-jo, Chief of Policy at the Blue House, also stated at the meeting, "We will secure the maximum possible volume of masks for public distribution and present supplementary measures," and "It seems that public sales will be conducted through pharmacies equipped with the DUR system."

The Party-Government-Blue House coalition also plans to strengthen cooperation with local governments to secure treatment beds and residential treatment centers, while accelerating the classification of confirmed patients' conditions. Lee said, "There are four stages of classification: critical, severe, moderate, and mild. We have requested the government to ensure that this classification of confirmed patients' conditions is done as quickly as possible," and added, "Based on the classified conditions, allocation must be made, and securing treatment beds and residential treatment centers is urgent. We will cooperate with local governments to secure them as soon as possible."

There also appears to be a plan to utilize facilities owned by Shincheonji Church of Jesus as residential treatment centers for asymptomatic and mild patients affiliated with Shincheonji. Earlier, Lee proposed this plan and requested cooperation from Shincheonji. At the meeting, he said, "It is unclear how this issue is progressing, and the list submitted by Shincheonji is still inaccurate," and added, "There are reportedly hundreds of believers who cannot be contacted. We urge Shincheonji's cooperation and the authorities' decisive action."

Lee also forecasted that the COVID-19 crisis could reach a critical point this week and next week. He said, "A stabilization phase may come before the situation ends," and explained, "The rapid increase in confirmed cases occurred after Shincheonji's group worship until the 16th of last month, and if group infections spread from that day, the 14-day incubation period is passing today." He added, "This week and next week will be a major turning point. I believe such an analysis is possible."

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