Democratic Party Pushes for VAT Exemption on Pharmacies... "Must Reward Pharmacists' Dedication"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Wondara and Heo Midam] The Democratic Party of Korea is preparing a bill to provide incentives to pharmacies participating in the sale of masks for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the morning of the 24th, Park Hong-geun, Chairman of the Democratic Party's Euljiro Committee, said at the COVID-19 National Crisis Overcoming Meeting held at the National Assembly, "The mask 5-day rotation system has been established," and added, "We appreciate the hard work of pharmacists."

He continued, "It is the Democratic Party's firm position to definitely reward the dedication of pharmacists," and said, "We will soon prepare a revised bill to provide incentives to pharmacies, such as exemption from value-added tax, and prioritize its passage in the next National Assembly session."

Lee Nak-yeon, Chairman of the COVID-19 National Crisis Overcoming Committee, also said at the previous day's meeting, "The number of people waiting in front of pharmacies on weekends to buy masks has decreased. In some pharmacies, masks remained until the afternoon," and added, "It seems that mask supply and demand are stabilizing."

He further emphasized, "We thank the pharmacists who sometimes worked at a loss," and said, "We will compensate for the damages to pharmacies institutionally."

Meanwhile, since the implementation of the mask 5-day rotation system, about 22,400 pharmacies nationwide have been mostly occupied with mask sales tasks such as identity verification to prevent duplicate purchases and repackaging masks to limit purchases to two per person.

In this regard, Kim Dae-up, President of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, stated, "The voices of suffering experienced by members due to the public mask sales are very loud."

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