"Long-term Foreign Residents Without Health Insurance Also Eligible to Purchase Public Masks" (Update)

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] From the 20th, it will be possible to purchase public masks on behalf of family members who do not live together. Long-term foreign residents in Korea who are not enrolled in health insurance will also be given the opportunity to purchase masks.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on the 19th, if family relationships can be verified with a family relation certificate, public masks can be purchased on behalf of family members even if they do not live together. Until now, proxy purchase of public masks was only allowed for parents and children living together as registered in the resident registration.

Family members who can purchase masks on behalf of others with a family relation certificate include ▲ those born in or before 1940 ▲ those born in or after 2002 ▲ pregnant women ▲ hospitalized patients ▲ long-term care benefit recipients.

According to government statistics, about 460,000 foreigners who are long-term residents in Korea but not enrolled in health insurance and thus not registered in the management system were unable to buy public masks. They can also purchase public masks at pharmacies, post offices, and Nonghyup Hanaro Mart by presenting their foreigner registration card, permanent resident card, or residence card.

The government stated, "This measure is to fairly distribute public masks to as many citizens as possible," and added, "We will continue to improve the 5-day mask purchase system and other measures to minimize inconvenience to the public."

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