'Health Masks' in Korean... Did Ma Yun from China Send Korean Masks to Japan?

Video attached to an online article by Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 9th. The video features a box of masks donated by former Chairman Ma. The box is labeled in Korean as "Puredom Health Mask." Photo by Nihon Keizai video screen capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han, Intern Reporter Seulgi Kim] It has been reported that Jack Ma (Ma Yun), the former chairman and founder of Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce company, donated Korean-made masks to Hokkaido, Japan, sparking controversy.

On the 9th, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Hokkaido Shimbun reported that 10,000 of the 1 million masks Jack Ma pledged to donate to Japan were loaded onto a 4-ton truck and arrived in Hokkaido.

According to a video attached to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun's online article, the donated masks are presumed to be Korean-made. The video shows boxes of masks supported by Jack Ma, with Korean text on the boxes reading "Puredom Health Mask," which is produced in Korea.

Nihon Keizai stated, "A gift has arrived in Hokkaido, which is struggling with the spread of the novel coronavirus," reporting the news of Jack Ma's mask donation.

However, controversy arose domestically over the process by which products appearing to be Korean-made masks sold by Korean companies, amid a mask shortage, were sent to China and then donated to Japan.

It is not known through which channel Jack Ma obtained the Korean-made masks. However, considering that Korean-made health masks are sold on Alibaba's online shopping mall Tmall, it is possible that Alibaba or Tmall sent stock they had previously secured.

On the 5th, Jack Ma also announced that he would donate 1 million masks to Korea. The Jack Ma Foundation said, "During a very difficult time, supplies from Korea alleviated extreme hardships," and added, "We hope to contribute as well."

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