Jeonnam Police Arrest Distributor Hoarding 150,000 Masks

Caught storing 150,000 masks in Pyeongtaek Port logistics warehouse

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] As COVID-19 is spreading nationwide, the government has intensified crackdowns on mask hoarding as ordinary citizens are suffering from long lines at public sales points from early morning to purchase masks.

The Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency's Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit announced on the 4th that on the 2nd, they jointly cracked down with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety inspection team on a mask distributor, Mr. A, who stored 150,000 masks in a logistics warehouse near Pyeongtaek Port, Gyeonggi Province, without distributing them domestically after exports to China were rejected.

Mr. A is suspected of purchasing 300,000 masks from a mask manufacturing factory in Jeonnam on the 24th of last month and attempting to export 150,000 of them to China, but when the export route was blocked, he stored them without distributing them to the market.

The Jeonnam police are investigating Mr. A for violating the Price Stabilization Act by hoarding and breaching emergency supply adjustment measures. The confiscated masks were immediately guided to be distributed, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will continue to monitor compliance.

A Jeonnam police official stated, “We will continue to strictly crack down on mask hoarding and distribution disorder acts as they are serious illegal activities that harm public health, cause social confusion, and provoke public anxiety.”

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