Mask Distribution Controversy in Seoul Districts Including Nowon-gu and Seocho-gu

Published 12 Mar.2020 09:48(KST)

Nowon-gu Distributes 1.1 Million Masks Collected from Nationwide Factories, 2 Masks per Household Free... Seodaemun-gu Provides Cloth Masks to Vulnerable Groups via Volunteers... Seocho and Jungnang-gu Lend District-Owned Masks to Pharmacies in Advance for Residents' Convenience

Nowon District Office employees are putting masks into envelopes to distribute to residents.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul's autonomous districts are supplying masks to vulnerable groups through various methods, including making cloth masks, as the mask shortage shows little sign of easing.

In particular, Nowon-gu has attracted attention by showing sincerity in providing 1.1 million masks, which were secured by pleading at mask manufacturing factories nationwide, free of charge to its residents.

The district toured places such as Yangju, Guro, Busan, and Miryang over the past month to secure masks.

The masks collected through these efforts are being distributed to 531,840 residents registered in Nowon-gu, with two masks per person, totaling 1.1 million masks. The distribution is carried out by neighborhood leaders visiting each household through the community service centers.

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) started volunteer activities this week within the local community, producing cloth masks and sharing them with neighbors in need. The process involves volunteer residents with tailoring skills measuring and cutting fabric to size, then volunteers with sewing machines sewing them at home or workshops. Seodaemun-gu supports the materials needed for mask production. About 30 residents, including members of Seodaemun-gu volunteer groups, local volunteer camps, and Seodaemun Women's Center volunteers, are participating in talent donation for cutting and sewing, aiming to produce 1,000 masks by the 17th of this month.

Notably, the masks they make are washable cloth products with replaceable filters.

Seocho-gu (Mayor Cho Eun-hee) has devised a clever method to reduce confusion among residents. The district introduced the concept of "lending masks for sale the next day on the day before" to enable mask sales at fixed times.

On the 9th, the district pre-distributed a total of 56,250 masks it had secured to 225 local pharmacies, 250 masks each.

Jungnang-gu (Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi) also applied a secret method by urgently supplying 16,600 masks from the district office's stock to pharmacies as the mask shortage continued.