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South Korean President Moon Jae-in

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and chairperson of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, sent a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in in which he said he was “impressed” by South Korea’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and indicated that South Korea was “at the forefront” of the private sector’s vaccine development, the Blue House said on July 26.

Blue House Deputy Spokesperson Yoon Jae-kwan shared the content of Gates’ letter in a briefing that day at the Chunchugwan Press Center. Moon and Gates previously discussed cooperation on vaccine and treatment development in a telephone conversation on July 4. In the letter, Gates was quoted as expressing his esteem for the leadership that Moon has demonstrated during a difficult time and for the efforts by Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook on behalf of global health. He also shared his hope for increased cooperation between the South Korean government and the foundation and for the opportunity to work with Moon in responding to the coronavirus and other global health issues.

Bill Gates

Gates referred to South Korea as being at the forefront of private vaccine development. Noting that the Gates Foundation had provided R&D support for vaccine development by SK Bioscience, he predicted that 200 million doses annually could be produced as of June of next year if development is successful. He went on to emphasize his hope of working with the South Korean government to ensure that South Koreans and people throughout the world can benefit from a vaccine developed in Korea.

In May, the Gates Foundation provided US$3.6 million in vaccine R&D support to SK Bioscience. Gates also announced plans to increase his foundation’s investment in the RIGHT Fund jointly established by the foundation and the South Korean government. The RIGHT Fund is a joint government-private non-profit foundation founded in July 2018 with investment by the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Gates Foundation, and South Korean bioscience businesses for the purpose of promoting global public health.

By Seo Young-ji, staff reporter

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