Gwangju City Produces and Distributes Cloth Masks Free of Charge with Gwangju Prison

Signing a Business Agreement and Supplying Raw Materials... Plan to Produce 50,000 Sheets by the End of This Month

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City and Gwangju Correctional Institution are producing and distributing cloth masks free of charge for vulnerable groups amid the mask shortage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

On the 10th, Gwangju City announced that it signed a 'Cloth Mask Raw Material Support and Supply Agreement' with Gwangju Correctional Institution and plans to start mask production from the 13th.

This mask production was initiated after the correctional authorities requested raw materials from Gwangju Correctional Institution, reflecting the difficulty for ordinary citizens to purchase masks despite the government's emergency mask supply stabilization measures and the desire to help the local community.

According to the agreement, Gwangju City will support Gwangju Correctional Institution with raw materials such as fabric and filters needed for mask production starting from today, and the correctional institution will produce 50,000 masks by the end of this month and supply them sequentially to Gwangju City.

In particular, Taebong Co., Ltd., a local mask manufacturer, has expressed its intention to donate 600 kg of filter-type nonwoven fabric to Gwangju Correctional Institution to actively participate in overcoming the national disaster situation, so more than 30,000 of the 50,000 cloth masks will be produced as filter-type masks.

Gwangju Correctional Institution has a workshop and workforce capable of producing more than 2,000 masks per day.

The produced masks will be prioritized for vulnerable groups such as citizens who have difficulty purchasing masks due to mobility issues, COVID-19 frontline workers, and public transportation workers.

Park Ho-seo, warden of Gwangju Correctional Institution, said, “The inmates’ will to help the local community has come together to produce masks, and we hope this will actually help with mask supply.”

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “I sincerely thank Gwangju Correctional Institution for producing masks to protect the health and safety of citizens amid the severe mask shortage caused by COVID-19,” adding, “The spirit of sharing and solidarity continuously carried on in Gwangju during this crisis is a great strength in overcoming COVID-19.”

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