Park Young-sun "Actively Supporting Good Mask Manufacturers"... Visits 'Evergreen'

Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated on the 18th, "We are grateful to the 'Good Mask Manufacturing Companies' that are voluntarily working to stabilize supply and demand amid the severe mask shortage causing great inconvenience to the public," and pledged to work on improving the difficulties faced by these companies.

On the same day, Minister Park visited Evergreen, an SME located in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, to check the mask supply situation and listen to the companies' challenges. Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Choi Chang-hee, CEO of Gongyoung Shopping, were also present.

Minister Park said, "Recently, the relief supplies provided through public-private cooperation led to the resumption of operations by Korean companies in China, producing encouraging results one after another," and added, "If the private sector and government unite their efforts, we can surely overcome this crisis."

He continued, "Following the securing of 1 million masks on the 10th with the help of C&T Seongjin (located in Icheon, Gyeonggi), Mask Corporation (located in Jeonju, Jeonbuk), and Finetech (located in Gunpo, Gyeonggi), we recently secured an additional 700,000 masks through support from hidden good companies," and expressed hope that "more companies will join with a spirit of sharing."

Evergreen, established in 1996, is a company that succeeded in domestic mask production for the first time in Korea based purely on domestic technology and capital, and is an excellent SME that has obtained five major global certifications. It has recently been recognized as a good company leading the stabilization of mask supply amid the national emergency caused by COVID-19. In particular, it supplied 10,000 masks to the Korea Federation of SMEs for Korean SMEs operating in China and produced an additional 100,000 masks to supply to Gongyoung Shopping, contributing to national efforts to overcome the crisis.

On this day, Minister Park met with Lee Seung-hwan, CEO of Evergreen, and expressed gratitude for "prioritizing public health and safety through social responsibility management," presenting a plaque of appreciation, and promised active support from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.