Prime Minister Jeong: "Need for Change in Mask Policy... Utilize Surplus Supplies for Export and Humanitarian Aid"

"Dental mask production increased to 1 million units, import expansion promoted"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 24th, "The current mask policy, which requires 80% of production to be supplied to public sales channels, naturally needs to change," adding, "Within the range that does not disrupt domestic supply and demand, some surplus quantities can be used for export or humanitarian aid between countries."

Prime Minister Chung presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 held at the Government Seoul Office and stated, "Recently, mask production has more than doubled compared to January, and the stock of public masks is being stably secured."

He also emphasized, "As summer approaches and the weather gets hotter, people are finding mask-wearing very uncomfortable. However, wearing masks is inevitable for our collective safety."

He continued, "To alleviate even a little discomfort, the government will double the production of thin and light dental masks to one million units and also promote expanding imports," adding, "The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and related agencies should prepare well so that these measures can be implemented from June after discussion at today's CDSCH meeting."

Prime Minister Chung explained, "This week, all elementary, middle, and high schools will open, and about 2.4 million students, including kindergarteners, will attend school. This marks the full-scale resumption of in-person classes for students six times the number of high school seniors," and added, "The government's judgment is that we must effectively control and manage COVID-19 while guaranteeing children's right to learn."

He mentioned, "School life amid COVID-19, which no one has experienced before, inevitably comes with various difficulties," and said, "We must review the issues revealed during the past few days of in-person classes and make efforts to supplement and improve them continuously."

Furthermore, he reflected, "Looking back, there were many difficult moments during the COVID-19 response, but each time we overcame them wisely. We successfully conducted an election with 23 million participants without disruption, and there have been no transmission cases in the civil service exam with about 10,000 candidates so far," and expressed, "Based on this experience and capability, we must create a world-class model case for in-person classes."

He added, "To protect students from community infections, the efforts of schools, teachers, parents, and all citizens are more necessary than ever."

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