Sangjo Kim, Cheong Policy Chief, "Healthy People Should Refrain from Using Masks"

Kim Sang-jo, Chief of Policy Office at the Blue House (left) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Kim Sang-jo, Chief of the Blue House Policy Office, said on the 6th regarding the 'mask crisis' caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), "Healthy people should refrain from using masks."

In an interview with a tbs radio program on the same day, Chief Kim said, "Masks should mainly be worn by those in environments with a high risk of contamination, such as medical personnel, respiratory patients who may be infected with COVID-19, people with underlying conditions, or the elderly."

Chief Kim said he recently received advice from a senior professor specializing in preventive medicine, stating, "(In Korea) everyone thinks that the entire population should wear masks, but that is not the case in the West," and explained, "In the West, masks are worn as a sign saying 'I might have the flu, so don't come close to me.'"

However, such remarks may give the impression that the government, which initially emphasized 'personal quarantine' and recommended mask-wearing during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, is reversing its stance belatedly due to mask supply issues.

Chief Kim said, "In one month, production has doubled, and 10 million masks are supplied daily," but he also expressed practical difficulties, saying, "Even so, it is arithmetically impossible for 50 million people to use one mask per day."

He added, "The government is considering ways to minimize complaints caused by insufficient demand, share the inconvenience fairly among all citizens, and provide the scarce masks to those who need them more." He continued, "I believe in the mature civic consciousness of our people. That is the only way to solve this problem."

Regarding suspicions raised about 'giving away masks to China,' he dismissed them, saying, "Since the public sales measure was implemented on the 26th of last month, there have been virtually no masks going to China," and "The idea that the Korean government is distributing masks in a giveaway manner is really an unfounded statistic."

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