[Fact Check] Does Buying Masks at Pharmacies Lead to Personal Data Leakage in Jung?

Source=Twitter capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] "The moment you call out your resident registration number at a pharmacy to buy a single mask, all your personal information could flow to the Chinese Communist Party."

Amid the implementation of the 'Mask 5-Day Rotation System,' where masks are purchased based on birth year, a rumor has rapidly spread on SNS messenger KakaoTalk that purchasing official masks could lead to personal information leakage to China.

However, this is not true. The Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA), which operates the system to check duplicate purchases at pharmacies and post offices, dismissed the rumor on the 13th as "absolutely impossible" and labeled it as 'fake news.'

According to HIRA, the resident registration number used for mask purchases is utilized in an application (app) that prevents duplicate purchases and provides real-time updates on official mask sales status. Song Jae-dong, HIRA's Executive Director of Development, explained, "The resident registration number is only used to check for duplicate purchases," adding, "It resets after one week." He further noted, "It is also used to monitor mask inventory at pharmacies every five minutes."

Regarding the rumor that "Chinese-made equipment is used in the system," Director Song clarified, "It is not the Drug Utilization Review (DUR) system but HIRA's 'Healthcare Institution Work Portal' that is used, and there is no connection to equipment or personal information leakage." He added, "Domestic institutions mainly use products from IBM in the United States, so does that mean all personal information is leaked to the U.S.?" emphasizing that the claim is "nonsense."

The rumor also claims that "although doctors are using masks, they iron or apply heat with a dryer to them," asserting that "the COVID-19 virus dies when exposed to heat above 50 degrees Celsius." However, the World Health Organization (WHO) previously stated that "drying hands with a hand dryer is not an effective method to kill the COVID-19 virus." Furthermore, since confirmed COVID-19 cases have occurred in Singapore, where daytime temperatures approach 35 degrees Celsius, the claim that high temperatures kill the virus is merely a one-sided assertion.

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