Gominjeong on Vaccine Remarks Controversy: "It's Not Entirely False... I Don't Have the Capacity to Respond to Each Point"

Gominjung "Australia and Taiwan Did Not Vaccinate... Is This Medical Expertise?" Controversy

Ko Min-jung, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 13th, Go Minjung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, clarified that her remarks about countries postponing COVID-19 vaccinations and calling the opposition party's vaccine push a 'political fight' were meant to suggest "the need to adjust the timing," following backlash.

Go appeared on Yonhap News TV that day and said, "They say to refrain from responding, but whenever I say just one thing, the attacks become very intense. I don't understand why either," explaining her stance.

She added, "I felt they were trying to create a deliberate frame, so I did not respond again. The facts are not wrong, but I don't have the capacity to respond to every single thing," she said.

She further explained, "We need to prepare legislation on how to handle the post-COVID era and listen to voices from the field, so I don't have the capacity to respond to each issue one by one."

She also said, "The opposition keeps asking why we don't vaccinate immediately, so I said that there is a time for everything and the timing needs to be adjusted," adding, "In countries like Australia and Japan, vaccinations are scheduled for February or March."

Go clarified, "There is absolutely no reason to cause public anxiety just because our country is not vaccinating right now," and said, "So I wanted to send a message to reassure people."

Photo by Go Min-jung, captured from the Facebook post of the Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

Earlier, on the 11th, Go shared an article titled 'Why Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan Have Secured COVID Vaccines but Are Not Vaccinating' on her Facebook, saying, "A 'master doctor' prescribes treatment considering the patient's condition and surrounding environment."

She continued, "The People Power Party should stop the political fight over COVID-19 now," urging, "Let's gather wisdom to recover the struggling economy and make Korea a leading country."

The article Go shared cited the British daily The Guardian, which reported that "Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan have secured vaccines but are not vaccinating."

According to the article, these countries are postponing vaccinations to confirm side effects of the vaccines. They are reportedly planning to start vaccinations between mid-February and March.

Netizens pointed out that there is a difference between "securing vaccines but not vaccinating" and "not vaccinating due to late vaccine procurement." Unlike Australia and Taiwan, which have secured enough vaccines for their entire populations, Korea's vaccine procurement was insufficient.