[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Members of the People Power Party criticized Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's remarks regarding vaccines and raised their voices, urging President Moon Jae-in to take the lead in securing vaccines.
Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party's Emergency Committee, wrote on Facebook on the 21st, telling President Moon, "Stop being obsessed with taking credit and boasting, and actively step forward to purchase vaccines." He pointed out, "Prime Minister Chung's confession on a broadcast yesterday that 'In July, we did not consider vaccines because the number of domestic confirmed cases was low' is an admission of the government's policy failure."
He said, "The government must now take a more proactive approach to securing and purchasing vaccines," adding, "It is none other than the president who must step forward. Without this, we cannot overcome this crisis."
Seong emphasized, "The president should directly establish a private-public joint inter-ministerial vaccine task force (TF) team and appoint vaccine experts, granting them full authority," and added, "By bypassing the usual national bidding process and removing legal hurdles, public officials can work with conviction."
He said, "What kind of answers can the Minister of Health and Welfare, who is not an expert, get by meeting CEOs of foreign pharmaceutical companies?" and added, "The president must step in directly and create indemnity measures."
Hwang Bo-seung-hee, a member of the same party, also said, "President Moon should have stepped forward and clearly delivered the message, 'I take responsibility. I will give full authority, so secure vaccine supplies early.'" She added, "A private-public joint TF for vaccine procurement should be activated, with purchasing entrusted to purchasing experts and procurement to procurement experts."
Yoon Hee-sook also criticized Prime Minister Chung's remarks on Facebook, saying, "There was no apology for the anxiety felt by the people. What on earth does the government think of the people, and what do they think the state should do for its citizens?"
She quoted remarks from Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, who criticized advanced countries' vaccine procurement in the past, and Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, who said vaccines should be shared with North Korea, stating, "Since the formation of the state, regardless of its form, the most basic role of a state is to protect the lives and property of its people from internal and external threats." She pointed out, "There are so many people in our government who have failed to fulfill this role properly and do not even realize it is a mistake."
Earlier, Prime Minister Chung appeared on KBS's 'Sunday Diagnosis' and stated, "When the government activated the vaccine TF in July, the number of domestic confirmed cases was around 100, so there was a side that did not consider increasing reliance on vaccines." In response to media criticism, the Prime Minister's Office issued a press release on the same day, stating, "The claim that Prime Minister Chung said 'we did not consider vaccines because the number of confirmed cases was low' is not true," and rebutted, "Experts at the time explained in the context that many opinions existed to introduce vaccines while observing their use in countries with very high vaccine dependence."
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