Starting This Week, No New Orders... Convenience Stores and Marts Say "Masks Are Out of Stock"

Mask Shortage Persists Despite Implementation of Mask 5-Day Rotation System

Difficulty Purchasing Masks at Convenience Stores, Supermarkets, and Online Malls

On the 10th, citizens are lining up to purchase public masks at a pharmacy in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Lim Hye-seon and Lee Seung-jin] Although the government has implemented the mask 5-day rotation system, the mask shortage continues. The supply of masks at pharmacies (250 masks per location) is insufficient to meet demand, and masks are also unavailable at large supermarkets, convenience stores, and online malls. Until the supply shortage relative to demand is resolved, citizens will likely continue to face inconvenience in obtaining masks.

On the second day of the mask 5-day rotation system, around 2 p.m. on the 10th, pharmacies were busy attending to citizens trying to purchase masks. Since the delivery times of masks vary by pharmacy, inquiries from citizens continued.

Office worker Lim (34), who visited a pharmacy, said, "I stopped by the pharmacy before work, but the pharmacist said they didn’t know when masks would arrive." He added, "I came back after lunch, but they were all sold out, so I couldn’t buy any."

Convenience stores, which are relatively more accessible, have stopped receiving mask supplies since the implementation of the mask 5-day rotation system. The government has expanded the public supply to cover 80% of total mask production. The masks supplied through large supermarkets and convenience stores account for the remaining 20%, which is a very small amount.

Park, a 51-year-old convenience store owner in Huigyeong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, explained, "Previously, even a small quantity of masks would come in, but for the past week, no masks have arrived at all." GS25 has stopped ordering masks. A GS25 representative said, "Since the public supply was expanded last week, it has been difficult to secure masks. Because the 20% of masks outside the government’s share are distributed to distributors, manufacturers, hospitals, and local governments, practically no masks come to convenience stores." The convenience store headquarters supplies quantities received from suppliers to franchise stores nationwide two to three times a week.

CU is also experiencing no new mask stock arriving at its logistics centers. According to CU, until mid-last month, the order quantity per store was about 20 masks. After designating 50% as public supply, the order quantity was halved. Recently, the actual quantity arriving at logistics centers from manufacturers has decreased to about 10% of previous levels.

Seven Eleven is also unable to secure masks. A Seven Eleven representative explained, "Until last month, 40,000 to 50,000 masks arrived daily, but last week only 10,000 masks were received. With over 10,000 Seven Eleven stores, this means each store receives less than one mask."

The situation is similar at large supermarkets. Currently, large supermarkets receive 200 to 300 masks per store. However, since masks sell out as soon as they arrive, it remains difficult to purchase masks.

Domestic masks have also disappeared from online malls. Even masks whose prices have skyrocketed in the past week are hard to find. SSG.com has arranged with mask manufacturers to supply at least 100,000 masks weekly and plans to sell about 7,000 to 10,000 masks daily. However, due to the mask shortage, stock frequently sells out as soon as it arrives, leading to a "click war." Sellers of masks have sharply decreased on open markets such as 11st and Auction. A 11st representative said, "The government is taking most of the mask supply," adding, "We expect it will be difficult to secure masks for the time being."

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