President Lee Jae-myung said on May 31 that pay-as-you-throw garbage bag inventories "are actually sufficient" amid shortages linked to the Middle East war.
"There has been recent controversy over pay-as-you-throw bags," Lee said at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheongwadae. "I believe very peripheral issues are being exaggerated, even though we can fully respond depending on how we handle this."
"Looking at the country as a whole, there are sufficient inventories and raw materials. If problems arise because a specific local government was underprepared, they can be resolved through cooperation with neighboring municipalities," he said.
Lee instructed that "local governments need to be guided and managed more strictly," and urged the responsible ministries to "respond one step ahead, preemptively and thoroughly, so that similar cases do not occur with other goods."
The president also said that "false and fake information is being recklessly spread online regarding the government's crisis response efforts," and ordered that "investigative agencies must respond firmly and swiftly."
During the briefing, Lee noted that "garbage bags are not commercial goods, so even if production costs double, it only goes from 5 won to 10 won," adding that "this has absolutely no impact on the final retail price."
"From the administrative authorities' perspective, if bag production truly becomes difficult, ordinary bags could be used for the administrative purpose of sorted waste disposal. There is no reason for ordinary citizens to hoard them," he said.
"We need to find the people who spread false rumors," Lee added. "This is an act that disrupts social order and obstructs the nation's crisis response, and it constitutes a serious crime."