[Exclusive] Alibaba Confirms Masks Delivered to Japan Are Korean-Made... Meaning of Mutual Support Between Korea and Japan

Nihon Keizai Report Capture

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] It has been officially confirmed that the masks supported by Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba for Hokkaido, Japan, are of Korean origin.

On the 11th, the Jack Ma Foundation confirmed to our paper that the 10,000 COVID-19 protective masks donated by Alibaba founder Jack Ma to Hokkaido are indeed Korean-made. They explained, "Alibaba's stance is that global problems should be solved with global resources," adding, "Even when China was in difficulty, the appropriate allocation of supplies worldwide played a significant role in preventing community spread within China."

Although Alibaba did not clearly specify how they acquired the Korean-made masks and sent them to Japan, they indirectly stated, "Hospitals across China have masks and various protective equipment received from regions around the world."

The Jack Ma Foundation explained, "The important thing in the current situation where Korea and Japan are actively responding to the COVID-19 crisis is the supplies themselves that meet the demand of the affected areas," adding, "Supplies with guaranteed functionality should be sent faster to the areas in need." This statement reflects awareness of the growing criticism in Korea regarding Korean-made masks being sent to Japan with China's support.

They also added, "There were Japanese-made masks mixed in the masks Alibaba sent to Korea," and said, "The fact that Korean masks were delivered to Japan and Japanese masks were delivered to Korea can be remembered as a historic moment where both countries helped each other to overcome COVID-19."

The news that China supported Japan with Korean-made masks spread after the Nihon Keizai Shimbun in Japan published an online article titled "Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Donates 10,000 Masks to Hokkaido" on the 9th, accompanied by a video presumed to show boxes of Korean-made masks.

The video shows boxes of masks supported by Jack Ma, with Korean text on the boxes reading "Puredom Health Mask," which is produced in Korea.