One Million Masks a Day to North Korea? Government Calls It "Absurd Fake News"

Some YouTubers "Producing and Stockpiling 1 Million Copies Daily"
Ministry of Unification Calls It "Absurd Claim"... Requests Deliberation from Korea Communications Commission

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is removing his mask to speak at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 held on the morning of the 9th at the Crisis Management Comprehensive Situation Room in the Government Complex Sejong, Sejong City.

The Ministry of Unification has requested a review by the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), calling the claim by some YouTubers that the government is producing and stockpiling one million masks daily to send to North Korea "absurd."

On the 9th, a Ministry of Unification official told reporters, "There have been baseless claims by some YouTubers that the government is producing one million masks daily for North Korean aid and stockpiling them," adding, "The Ministry of Unification has never approved the export of masks to North Korea, whether by government authorities or private entities."

He explained, "YouTube is not an official media outlet, so there are no institutional measures such as requesting corrections, which is why we requested a review through the KCSC."

The Ministry of Unification requested the review for one channel called 'Moon Gapsik TV,' operated by former journalist Moon Gapsik, with the request made on the 8th.

On the 5th, Moon claimed in a YouTube broadcast, using a whistleblower format, that "the government has been producing one million masks daily since April 3 to send to North Korea and is stockpiling them for aid," even releasing related photos.

The Ministry of Unification stated, "This claim is not true," adding, "There has been no government-level consideration of mask aid to North Korea related to COVID-19, nor has any domestic civil organization applied for export of masks for North Korean aid."

Last month, the Ministry also requested a review by the KCSC regarding a video uploaded by Kim Heung-gwang, head of the NK Intellectuals Solidarity, titled "Masks worn by North Korean residents are Korean-made masks." The KCSC judged this as "information likely to cause significant social confusion" and decided to block access.

The Ministry of Unification official said, "We are monitoring issues related to aid to North Korea at the ministry level," and added, "We will take appropriate measures to correct facts regarding completely baseless and absurd claims."

The government plans to actively respond to fake news related to masks.

The Ministry of Unification official explained, "Public trust in the government is very important to overcome the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)," adding, "We will respond promptly to absurd claims about masks, which are very important in daily life, as part of efforts to overcome COVID-19 early."