Government should step in at signs of supply shortage
The government ended the rationing of face masks Sunday, shifting to a market supply scheme. However, some people are concerned about what they view as a “hasty end” to the public supply system, which played a vital role in maintaining the so-called “K-Quarantine.” That was mainly because the rationing system was a model case of efficient market control by the state in the course of supplying more than 700 million protective masks in a quasi-state of war.
In introducing the rationing system in March, the government allowed people to buy two masks a week on one of the five weekdays dependent on the year of their birth, triggering complaints about “socialistic practices.” The government raised the weekly purchasing limit to three masks about 50 days later and to 10, June 18. The rationing system's end could prove somewhat hasty, because infection clusters continue in the greater Seoul area and some other cities, including Gwangju and Daejeon. There are stockpiles now, but one cannot completely rule out further supply bottlenecks or price surges.
This means the government should not entirely take its hands off stabilizing the mask supply. Officials should check market trends, such as quality, daily output, distribution procedures and selling prices, and respond with zero tolerance to unfair trade practices, such as cornering and hoarding. The government should also prevent the export quota, which has lifted to 50 percent of monthly production, from destabilizing the domestic supply. No consumers would want the recurrence of the confusion and inconvenience they experienced before the rationing system was introduced.
Before there are signs of an unstable supply, related agencies should take steps, including increased production, export restraint, and the release of state stockpiles. In summer, the government should also make sure there is no shortage of lighter masks. Whenever necessary, officials must be ready to step in to prevent a “second mask crisis.” Officials should always bear in mind that most people want the public supply system to remain until they see the light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel.