[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] As the government plans to support Vietnam with more than 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next month, it announced that it will maximize domestic use of the vaccines to ensure there is no disruption to the domestic vaccination plan before providing the doses to Vietnam.
Kang Do-tae, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said at a regular briefing on the 22nd, "The vaccines to be provided to Vietnam will be sufficiently used for domestic vaccinations, and the surplus doses will be utilized for the donation," adding, "We are discussing providing more than 1 million doses."
During a summit with Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the 21st (local time) in New York, where President Moon Jae-in is attending the United Nations General Assembly, he stated, "Since the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, the two countries have shared quarantine supplies and overcome the crisis together. South Korea intends to support Vietnam with more than 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in October." This marks the first time South Korea has directly supplied vaccines to a specific country.
When asked about the background for donating vaccines to Vietnam, Kang explained, "Currently, about 156,000 overseas Koreans reside in Vietnam, and approximately 9,000 Korean companies have entered the market there," adding, "Vietnam is a key partner country under our New Southern Policy."
He continued, "As of mid-September, Vietnam is experiencing serious difficulties with COVID-19, with more than 10,000 confirmed cases daily," and noted, "We have taken into account Vietnam's continuous requests for vaccine support to South Korea."
Kang emphasized, "The donated vaccines will be sufficiently used for domestic vaccinations, and the surplus doses will be utilized. We plan to maximize domestic use first to ensure that there is no disruption to our country's vaccination plan before providing the vaccines."
Regarding the type of vaccines to be donated to Vietnam, he added, "Due to the nature of vaccine donations, we need to review vaccine safety and transportation methods, and consult with pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, specific details can be provided after an agreement with Vietnam is finalized."
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