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Lee Hong-geun, senior research fellow at the Institut Pasteur Korea in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, explains the processing of certain compounds to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Apr. 9. (Blue House photo pool)

On Apr. 9, South Korean President Moon Jae-in promised that medical firms would be compensated for all costs incurred while developing vaccines and medication for COVID-19 and urged the government to make that development possible. He instructed his ministers to fully support the development efforts, without sparing any expenses or administrative support.

Blue House Spokesperson Kang Min-seok relayed Moon’s remarks, which were made during a meeting about developing medications and vaccines for COVID-19 held at the Institut Pasteur Korea, in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday. The meeting brought together representatives of the medical, corporate, academic, and research sectors.

In addition, Moon instructed officials to create a government-wide support system that would include a standing consultative body representing not only the medical, corporate, academic, and research sectors but also the government. Moon announced that the government would invest 210 billion won (US$173.4 million) toward that end.

During the meeting, Moon addressed concerns by industry participants that projects for developing medications or vaccines have been shut down in their final stages, after infections subsided, causing investors to lose money. “The government will purchase an ample stock of the medications and vaccines you develop and set them aside for the next outbreak. Even if those treatments aren’t financially or commercially viable in terms of the market, the government will stockpile enough to ensure you’re fully compensated for the money and effort that went into their development,” Moon promised.

Moon emphasized the importance of getting results in remarks delivered to Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young, Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo, and Minister of Food and Drug Safety Lee Eui-kyung, who accompanied him at the meeting. “Don’t hold back on administrative support or funding. If your own ministries don’t have enough resources, you can enlist the aid of the Ministry of Economy and Finance,” he suggested.

Moon called for a radical loosening of administrative regulations. “We need to be bold and ambitious in our plans. Our government-wide support system will not have achieved its goal until medication and a vaccine have been developed,” he said.

The president hinted at his ambitions in his remarks. “What I’m telling you today is grounded in my strong desire for Korea to be a global leader in developing medications and vaccines, just as we’ve been the global leader in developing diagnostic reagents and testing kits.”

Moon also noted how South Korea had surmounted Japan’s export controls last year. “When Japan imposed export controls on us, we set up a government-wide action committee that supervised a working-level support team. During its regular meetings, the team drew up a list of the challenges faced by industry and immediately tackled those challenges. Through that approach, we managed with great speed to achieve autonomy in our materials and parts sector, an area where we’d been dependent on Japan.”

“We had a similar experience with our diagnostic reagents. Through special collaboration, we managed to develop those reagents with the kind of speed that others would never have thought possible,” Moon said.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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