Despite the 'Mask 5-Day Rotation System,' Supply Shortages Persist... Complaints Already Arise On Site

Not Guaranteed to Supply 2 Masks Per Week
Economic Ministers and Vice Ministers Visit Mask Factories
Production Shortage Problem Difficult to Solve Immediately
Pharmacists Say "Practically Volunteering... Became Scapegoats"

On the 6th, citizens are purchasing masks at a pharmacy near Jongno 5-ga, Seoul. From this day onward, a duplicate purchase verification system has been established at pharmacies nationwide, requiring presentation of an ID to buy masks. The purchase limit per person has been reduced from 5 masks to 2 masks per person. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Despite the government's '5-day purchase system' policy for mask products, it is pointed out that it is difficult to improve confusion at sales sites because it is hard to increase production volume, the core issue of supply and demand, in a short period. While it may be effective in curbing the surge in demand caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), social anxiety over the shortage of usable masks remains. Although key economic ministries' ministers and vice ministers have been visiting mask factories one after another to encourage production, there are practical limits to calming the situation.

On the 6th, Kim Yong-beom, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, chaired the '3rd Innovation Growth Strategy Review Meeting and Policy Review Meeting' at the Government Seoul Office and urged, "I expect all ministries to carry out the mask supply stabilization measures swiftly and flawlessly with an extraordinary determination as if they were the main ministry." The day before, the government announced mask-related supply stabilization measures including ▲selling 2 masks per person (purchase limit from Monday to Sunday) mainly at pharmacies ▲5-day purchase system by day of the week according to birth year ▲blocking duplicate purchases through buyer ID verification. Initially, the government proposed an odd-even birth year system as a related measure but reportedly switched to the '5-day system' to minimize congestion at sales sites.

◆Supply shortage of 2 masks per week despite 5-day system=On the same day, Kim Sang-jo, Chief of the Blue House Policy Office, appeared on a radio program and said, "Excluding the quantity that must be supplied mandatorily, the weekly production volume is about 50 million masks, which means the production volume can provide about one mask per person per week."

Kim explained, "People working in clean environments or healthy individuals should refrain from using masks," adding, "Masks should mainly be used by those in environments with high contamination risk like medical staff, respiratory patients who may be infected, and elderly people with underlying diseases." He continued, "The government has plans to maximize supply and organize the distribution system as effectively and fairly as possible, but there are many shortcomings to promise two masks per person per week." He acknowledged the limitations of mask production volume and requested users' consideration.

Prior to this, key ministry ministers and vice ministers have been visiting mask factories one after another, ordering production expansion and implementation of government policies. Earlier this month, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, visited mask manufacturer Wellkips; Vice Minister Kim, who has been leading the mask issue, visited mask manufacturer Finetek and pharmacy distributor Geo Young on the 2nd and 3rd; and Koo Yoon-chul, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, visited the post office mask sales site in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province on the 4th. On the morning of the 6th, Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, visited mask raw material manufacturer Clean & Science to inspect the production system and requested cooperation for emergency measures implementation.

On the 6th, a citizen is purchasing a mask at a pharmacy near Jongno 5-ga, Seoul. From this day onward, a duplicate purchase verification system has been established at pharmacies nationwide, requiring presentation of an ID to buy masks. The purchase limit per person has been reduced from 5 masks to 2 masks per person. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

◆Trouble from the start... Pharmacies say "Are we the government's scapegoat?"=However, regardless of the economic team's site visits, troubles have arisen from the early stages of the supply procurement process. On the day the government announced the measures, the dental mask manufacturer Edent claimed, "The Public Procurement Service notified us that it would only recognize about 50% of the production cost and demanded a production contract ten times the daily production volume," and announced it would stop production. The Public Procurement Service explained, "Currently, contract price negotiations are still ongoing, and unilateral claims are not true," adding, "We calculate costs based on general market transaction prices and set different purchase prices for each company. Price negotiations are underway with about 130 manufacturers."

Confusion at sales sites also continues. Although the government announced guidelines such as prohibiting proxy purchases of minors' masks in principle, pharmacies, which have become the main official sales outlets, have to bear complaints about this. Especially, most pharmacies are operated by a single pharmacist or with one employee, making it difficult to manage long queues or disputes among customers. One pharmacist said, "Public supply quantities of 500 to 100 masks have arrived daily over the past week, but only 10 to 20 people purchase them, and that's it," lamenting, "However, the number of people looking for masks before and after that is more than ten times higher." The pharmacist added, "Even if sales hours are announced, people line up three hours early, and many get angry, accusing us of hoarding masks," and said, "Since prices are controlled by the government, we are volunteering during COVID-19 but have become scapegoats who don't even get good words."

Regarding this, a researcher at an economic research institute explained, "Unless production reaches 50 million masks per day, it is impossible for supply to meet demand," and added, "It seems important to properly diagnose the realistic problems and deliver appropriate measures and messages to the public."

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