Shortage of Self-Test Kits, Government Says "No Problem" but Manufacturers Complain of 'Labor Shortage'

"Sudden Surge in Demand Makes Even Daily Workers Hard to Find"
Struggling to Recruit New and Experienced Staff
Online Kit Sales Banned Starting the 13th

On the 10th, as the spread of COVID-19 continued, a self-test kit sold-out notice was posted at a pharmacy in downtown Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Gwan-ju and Lee Chun-hee] As the demand for COVID-19 self-test kits has surged, manufacturers are facing urgent challenges. The industry cites 'labor shortages' as the biggest problem. While production facilities are sufficient to meet domestic demand, the lack of personnel to operate them is causing a drop in operating rates.

According to health authorities and the industry on the 12th, following the Omicron variant surge and the resulting shortage of self-test kits, all manufacturers are making every effort to maximize production line operations to supply the products. As of this date, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved six self-test kit products produced by five companies: Humasis, SD Biosensor, Rapigen, GenBody, and Sugentech.

Until the end of last month, the government maintained the position that "there will be no major problems in the supply of self-test kits." However, demand for self-test kits has skyrocketed alongside the restructuring of the quarantine system. Manufacturers have responded by increasing production capacity, but the labor issue remains unresolved.

As a result, the industry reports that current factory operating rates are only about 30-50% of total production capacity. Due to a general shortage of personnel in the diagnostic kit industry, even the recruitment of daily workers is not proceeding smoothly.

On the morning of the 11th, COVID-19 self-test kits are being produced at Sujentech in Cheongju, Chungbuk. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Rapigen recently expressed in a media interview, "The factory operating rate is only about 30%. The supply will stabilize once the labor shortage is resolved." A Sugentech official told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "Even if equipment issues are resolved, production ultimately requires human hands, so there is a limit due to labor shortages. In terms of materials, not only the kit components but also packaging materials need to increase overall, but the rapid rise in supply demand is causing many difficulties."

To address the labor shortage, each manufacturer is accelerating recruitment efforts. According to the job portal Saramin, as of this date, four domestic self-test kit manufacturers excluding Sugentech are conducting open recruitment for both new and experienced workers, seeking talent across all fields including production, research and development, and general affairs. Especially as they seek to expand markets such as exports, demand for overseas sales personnel is also increasing across the industry.

Meanwhile, the government announced that starting from the 13th, online sales of self-test kits will be banned, and repackaging of bulk-packaged products for sale at pharmacies will be permitted. The government plans to supply 70.8 million self-test kits domestically this month and 190 million next month.

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