Government Secures Public Supply of Masks... Contracts Signed with 125 Companies

On the 6th, citizens lined up at a pharmacy near Jongno 5-ga, Seoul, to purchase masks. From this day onward, a duplicate purchase verification system has been established at pharmacies nationwide, requiring customers to present identification to buy masks. The purchase limit per person, which was 5 masks, has been reduced to 2 masks per person. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 6th that contracts to secure public supply quantities (80% of daily production) with mask manufacturers are progressing smoothly.

As of 12 PM on the same day, contracts have been completed with 125 out of 131 targeted manufacturing companies.

The Ministry evaluated that despite the diversity of mask types and prices, the takeover of existing contracts, and individual contract negotiations with numerous small companies, a high contract success rate was achieved in a short period.

Meanwhile, it is known that contracts have been difficult to conclude with some companies due to unmet conditions such as mask quality.

The Ministry plans to accelerate the contract negotiation process to complete as many contracts as possible.

A Ministry official said, "We appreciate the active cooperation and dedication shown by mask manufacturers during the process of securing public supply quantities," adding, "We will continue to support productivity improvement and capacity enhancement of mask manufacturers."

Additionally, the official stated, "We will support payment prices above the standard price and plan to further increase purchase prices based on weekend and nighttime production performance."

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