The government will allow South Koreans to send face masks to overseas family members regardless of whether they have Korean citizenship or not as domestic supplies have stabilized, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Currently, South Koreans are allowed to send up to 12 surgical masks per person every month, and the recipients must be South Korean citizens.

Starting Friday, they will be able to send the masks to family members with non-South Korean citizenship, including adoptees of South Korean origin, as well as to parents and children of those who immigrated to Korea after marrying a South Korean, the ministry said.

The number of masks a person can send will be unchanged.

The decision was made in consideration of stabilizing mask supplies in the local market and growing demand from people wishing to send more masks to their family members in other countries where mask supplies are not sufficient, it said.

Senders are required to show related documents and their ID card to prove their relationship with recipients when they visit the post office to put them in the mail.

In late March, the government began to allow individuals to send locally made face masks to their families overseas in an exception to a ban on outbound shipments of masks on concerns over tight supply amid the spread of COVID-19.

Customs data shows that more than 5.02 million face masks were sent to family members abroad between March 24 and June 19. (Yonhap)