2000 Won Each Cotton Masks Flood Seoul City

Seoul Northeast Districts Fashion Sewing Industry Development Council (Chairman Ryu Gyeong-gi, Jungnang-gu Mayor) Holds Briefing at Seoul City Hall Press Room on 17th to Announce Plan for Supplying 국민안심(Myeon) Masks (Cotton Masks with 4 Filters, 2000 KRW Each)... On March 13, 9 District Mayors of Seoul Northeast Fashion Sewing Industry Development Council, Union Representatives, Small Business Research Institute, 국민안심 Mask Production Council Collaborate to Solve Mask Supply Issues... Cooperating with Local Sewing Companies for Mass Production and Public Purchase/Supply of 국민안심(Myeon) Masks, Rapid Mask Supply 추진

Ryu Kyung-gi, Mayor of Jungnang District, explains the National Safety Mask.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Cotton masks with four filters are being widely distributed at 2,000 won each in Seoul, which is expected to resolve the mask shortage issue.

The Fashion and Sewing Industry Development Council of Northeast Seoul Autonomous Districts (Chairman Ryu Kyung-gi) held a press briefing to promote the distribution of National Safety Masks and explained this plan.

The briefing, held at 11:30 a.m. on the 17th in the briefing room on the 2nd floor of Seoul City Hall, will be attended by the nine district heads of the Northeast Seoul autonomous districts who are members of the Fashion and Sewing Industry Development Council (Jungnang, Jongno, Jung-gu, Seongdong, Gwangjin, Dongdaemun, Seongbuk, Gangbuk, Dobong).

This briefing was organized to address the explosive global increase in mask demand due to COVID-19 and to solve mask supply issues, with the Northeast Seoul autonomous districts' Fashion and Sewing Industry Development Council lending its support.

On the 13th, at the Planning Situation Room of Jungnang District Office, a meeting was held hosted by the Fashion and Sewing Industry Development Council of Northeast Seoul Autonomous Districts (Chairman Ryu Kyung-gi, Jungnang District Head), attended by the nine district heads (Jungnang, Jongno, Jung-gu, Seongdong, Gwangjin, Dongdaemun, Seongbuk, Gangbuk, Dobong) along with representatives of local sewing cooperatives, Seoul City and the Small Business Research Institute, and the National Safety Mask Production Council, where they agreed to produce and distribute National Safety Masks.

The reason the nine Northeast Seoul autonomous districts are promoting the production of National Safety Masks is that the region is densely populated with representative urban manufacturing sewing companies capable of mass-producing National Safety Masks, enabling smooth mask supply.

Additionally, the production of National Safety Masks is expected to have a triple effect: sewing companies facing economic difficulties can alleviate management challenges through job creation; the use of washable and reusable cotton masks will reduce waste compared to disposable masks, contributing to the creation of an eco-friendly culture.

The nine district heads belonging to the ‘Northeast Seoul Development Council’ have decided to collaborate with the ‘Local Sewing Cooperatives’ and the ‘National Safety Mask Production Council’ to operate an efficient production and supply cooperation system for National Safety Masks. They resolved to prioritize the following five agreements to capture both public health and economic revitalization.

◆ Resolutions of the Fashion and Sewing Industry Development Council of Northeast Seoul Autonomous Districts

The nine autonomous districts of Northeast Seoul belonging to the Fashion and Sewing Industry Development Council have agreed to produce and distribute National Safety Masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to alleviate the management difficulties of local sewing companies.

1. The nine autonomous districts of Northeast Seoul will have local sewing cooperatives produce the masks under the premise that performance and safety are objectively proven. The ‘National Safety Mask Production Council’ will verify standards, performance, and safety, while the nine districts will handle purchasing and distribution.

2. Considering the production start conditions of sewing companies, each district agrees to purchase at least 100,000 masks.

3. Distribution locations for the publicly purchased National Safety Masks will be autonomously decided by each district, prioritizing public officials, related institutions, and others in need.

4. To expedite production, districts will pay at least 30% of the contract amount as an advance payment to the contracting sewing companies to ensure no disruption in raw material procurement.

5. Production and distribution of National Safety Masks will be immediately implemented by the nine districts of Northeast Seoul, with plans to expand to all 25 districts of Seoul through the district heads' council.

The National Safety Mask (electrostatic filter cotton mask) consists of a cotton mask with an insertable and replaceable electrostatic filter between two layers of cotton. One set includes one cotton mask and four electrostatic filters. The prototype passed the Korea Apparel Testing & Research Institute (KATRI) test and met the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety certification standards.

Masks produced through each district's sewing cooperative will be distributed to citizens through public purchases of at least 100,000 masks per district. The council plans to expand the National Safety Mask supply initiative to all 25 districts of Seoul in the future.

The council noted that due to the shortage of health masks, a representative item for preventing COVID-19 spread, the government has implemented the ‘Public Mask 5-Day Rotation System.’ Furthermore, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency revised mask usage recommendations (temporary guidelines for mask use in emergency situations, March 3, 2020), stating that “using cotton masks (including replaceable electrostatic filters) is helpful when the risk of infection is low or when health masks are unavailable.” This is expected to boost public purchase of National Safety Masks produced by the nine districts.

The nine districts of the Northeast Seoul Fashion and Sewing Industry Development Council will establish a dedicated secretariat at the chairman district (Jungnang) to promptly implement the five agreed items. They will coordinate with the ‘National Safety Mask Production Council’ regarding specifications, performance, and safety to ensure rapid production by local sewing cooperatives, aiming to quickly resolve the mask shortage issue.

9 District Mayors of the Northeast Seoul Autonomous Districts Fashion Sewing Industry Development Council

The ‘Fashion and Sewing Industry Development Council of Northeast Seoul Autonomous Districts’ was established in May 2017 and consists of the nine district heads of Northeast Seoul, Seoul City officials, and Small Business Research Institute personnel, maintaining active operations to date. It has achieved results for the development of Seoul’s sewing industry, including ‘improving disposal methods for sewing fabric waste,’ ‘improving working environments for small sewing companies,’ and ‘eradicating violations of origin labeling laws.’

Ryu Kyung-gi, Chairman of the Northeast Seoul Development Council and Jungnang District Head, stated, “The entire nation is coming together to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. I hope that the distribution of National Safety Masks will serve as an opportunity to resolve both the mask shortage causing great inconvenience to citizens and the management difficulties faced by local sewing companies.”