Park Young-sun, on K-Syringe Success: "Thanks to Poonglim Pharmatech, SMEs, and Samsung Employees"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor, highly praised the performance of the special syringe for COVID-19 vaccination and commended Punglim Pharmatech, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and Samsung employees.

This special syringe, recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is produced domestically by Punglim Pharmatech and has the advantage of minimizing the residual vaccine inside after injection. It features the ability to 'squeeze out' the remaining vaccine in the syringe, resulting in a 20% increase in vaccine yield.

On the 19th, Candidate Park referred to President Moon Jae-in's visit to Punglim Pharmatech's Gunsan factory the previous day, saying, "I feel truly relieved to be leaving the Ministry of SMEs and Startups after resolving the syringe issue."

On the same day, through Facebook, Candidate Park also shared an anecdote related to the special syringe.

Park Young-sun, former minister and Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Seoul mayoral primary, visited the Jungang Vaccination Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 18th and observed the clean bench demonstration. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

He wrote, "I recall President Moon receiving a report last December on the so-called 'squeezing' vaccine syringe issue and saying, 'Support this with all your heart.' Then, when persuading Punglim Pharmatech's CEO?who hesitated upon hearing it was a matter of presidential interest?CEO Cho decided, saying, 'If that is the case, I must do something for the country.' I am grateful to everyone."

Candidate Park said, "There were several critical moments afterward, but I deeply thank CEO Cho Hee-min of Punglim Pharmatech, her daughter Vice President Cho Mi-hee, and the employees of Punglim Pharmatech who trusted me and supported the effort each time."

He also shared an article about Japan wanting to purchase Korea's special syringe, adding, "Vice President Cho consulted me about the issue of exporting to Japan, and honestly, I am somewhat conflicted." Earlier, Candidate Park emphasized, "Japan reportedly discarded vaccines because they could not secure this syringe," and stated, "I will make Seoul a city that overcomes COVID-19."

He also expressed gratitude to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Samsung employees. In particular, Samsung Electronics dispatched manufacturing experts to establish a mass production system for the special syringe, improving productivity and supporting automatic syringe assembly equipment.