After Proposing Measures, Reviewing Supplements in a Day... Mask Supply Measures Miss the Mark Repeatedly

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@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] On the 6th, the government announced that it is reviewing supplementary measures regarding the restriction allowing mask purchases based on birth year. This comes after the sudden introduction of the '5-day rotation system by day of the week' the previous day, which has been criticized for loopholes such as making it difficult for minors to purchase masks. Since the demand for masks has increased following the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the government has been monitoring the supply and demand situation, but repeated missteps seem to be only increasing public confusion.

Kim Sang-bong, Director of the Bio-Pharmaceutical Division at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, said at a briefing on the same day regarding the issue of expanding proxy purchase scope, "(Regarding mask supply and demand) there have been unavoidable inconveniences due to the fairness aspect among the values of accessibility and fairness," adding, "The government will review the principles and take swift action."

The Mask Task Force, composed of related ministries including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, announced measures to resolve supply issues by limiting the purchase quantity per person the previous day and starting from the 9th, allowing purchases only on specific days according to birth year. Currently, about 10 million masks are supplied daily, and the plan also includes increasing the supply to public sales outlets, which was limited to 50%, to 80%.

It is also impossible for parents to purchase masks on behalf of their minor children using the children’s ID cards. This has led to complaints such as, "Are we supposed to practice social distancing while taking kids to pharmacies to stand in line to buy masks?" President Moon Jae-in instructed on the same day to "expand the scope of proxy receipt."

Earlier, as mask supply issues continued, the government began an emergency supply adjustment measure on the 26th of last month, mandating reporting of production, inventory, and sales volumes. This was intended for the government to directly monitor supply trends. Nevertheless, many citizens continued to point out difficulties in purchasing masks.

According to the initially introduced emergency supply adjustment measure, the supply through public sales outlets such as pharmacies, public home shopping, and post offices was limited to 50%. This will also be expanded to over 80% starting from the 7th. Public home shopping and the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center, which were originally designated as sales outlets, will no longer receive supplies. Although there are concerns about increased workload for frontline pharmacies, no additional measures have been announced regarding this. Director Kim said, "It is true that the workload is increasing," but added, "Basically, it is within the health insurance system and is considered a public domain itself."

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