Kanglip Kim, Director of MFDS, "Top Priority is Supporting COVID-19 Vaccine and Treatment Development"

"Vaccine Safety Verified in the Shortest Time... Comprehensive Consideration of Side Effects Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] "The top priority is supporting the development of vaccines and treatments for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."

Kim Kang-lip, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), held his first press briefing since taking office on the 16th at a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul, citing support for the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments as the foremost urgent task. Having served as the 1st Vice Minister of Health and Welfare and the 1st Chief Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH), Commissioner Kim assumed office as the 6th MFDS Commissioner on the 2nd of this month.

Commissioner Kim stated, "Since the MFDS is a regulatory agency, there may be limitations in actively supporting the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments," but he emphasized, "Through discussions with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, we will strive to develop trustworthy and safe COVID-19 vaccines and treatments so that the public can reach the ultimate goal of restoring the life they once enjoyed as quickly as possible."

As the world is fighting the COVID-19 crisis with a life-or-death focus on vaccines and response measures, the MFDS explained that it will spare no decisive support to ensure effective and safe COVID-19 treatments and vaccines are developed as soon as possible.

With the imminent commercialization of COVID-19 vaccines by global pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Commissioner Kim also shared the MFDS’s stance on vaccine introduction. He said, "We will assemble the best team to complete safety inspections in the shortest possible time." He added, "There is a challenge to harmonize the conflicting values of speed and safety and to complete verification as quickly as possible. Normally, vaccine clinical trials take 8 to 9 years, but now they are being developed rapidly within 1 to 2 years. As a regulatory authority, we must verify safety under limited conditions, which inevitably brings a heavy burden. However, I firmly believe that the MFDS should not be an obstacle but rather a facilitator in using reliable products."

However, he viewed securing safety, including side effects, as paramount before vaccine introduction. Commissioner Kim explained, "The government must do its best to secure vaccines, but the goal should not be to purchase first as if in a race or Olympic event. We must comprehensively consider side effects that may appear years later, how long the effectiveness lasts, and whether a single dose is sufficient."

Enhancing Expertise, Reliability, and Efficiency
Actively Preparing for the New Trade Environment under RCEP

Commissioner Kim mentioned that in the new normal era, he will consider ways to simultaneously enhance the MFDS’s expertise and efficiency. He said, "Even after we are free from COVID-19, I believe the current methods will have a significant long-term impact. In carrying out MFDS duties, we will embrace new changes and strive to improve expertise, reliability, and efficiency to successfully complete the national agenda of 'strengthening daily safety.'"

He also presented a vision to transform the MFDS into an institution actively preparing for the future related to Korea’s New Deal, including green growth and digital industry revitalization. Commissioner Kim stated, "The MFDS must also prepare for the changes and demands of the times. We will encourage low carbon initiatives across various products such as pharmaceuticals, food, and cosmetics, and support conditions that allow citizens to manage their health independently by utilizing digital technology."

Commissioner Kim emphasized, "In a new trade environment like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA), it is evident that regulations must achieve international harmonization. We will examine whether South Korea can lead the international order and improve past working methods to prepare for the future in new ways."

Regarding concerns raised about a lack of pharmaceutical expertise, he responded, "The MFDS is an institution that secures public trust through expertise-based regulation. My role is to create conditions where experts within the MFDS can work properly based on scientific evidence and institutionalize the results so that the public can accept policies."

He added, "Nowadays, no policy task can be solved by one ministry alone. If I can utilize my assets to fill the institutionalization of the MFDS’s expertise, I expect to provide new value to the public in a form somewhat different from the MFDS’s past approaches."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.