Ahn Cheol-soo: "President Moon openly lies to the people... Where are the secured vaccines?"

"Not only incompetent but also dishonest... Much worse"

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th and delivering opening remarks. / 2020.12.24

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized on the 24th regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, saying, “Where are the 44 million doses of vaccine that were secured?” and “Is it acceptable for President Moon Jae-in to blatantly lie to the public like this? Being incompetent is bad enough, but being incompetent and dishonest is much worse.”

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Ahn said, “The president should not spread the fake news that countries that developed the vaccine must be vaccinated first,” and added, “Then, are Canada or Israel, which are currently vaccinating, vaccine-developing countries?”

Ahn stated, “Even though this administration should be reflecting and apologizing, it is using pro-government broadcasts to show old National Assembly audit footage, misleading the facts as if the failure to secure vaccines is the fault of the National Assembly or the opposition party, trying to shift responsibility,” and “It is truly beyond help. But incompetence and dereliction of duty cannot be hidden. If they are this incompetent and negligent regarding the lives and safety of the people and even lie, one cannot help but question whether they are qualified to be president.”

Ahn added, “The ruling party shamelessly goes even further. While the entire nation is eagerly waiting for vaccination, the ruling party is only focused on protecting the president, not the people,” and “Because of this government’s incompetence and lies delaying vaccination, countless people who could have been saved will ultimately lose their lives.”

Ahn urged President Moon, “Report the vaccine procurement status accurately to the public,” and said, “Even countries worse off than us have secured vaccines. Take responsibility for causing anxiety among the entire nation by failing to secure vaccines and assess the situation properly, and bow your head in apology.”

Ahn said, “Even now, take charge of vaccine procurement directly like other world leaders. Call leaders of countries that have secured sufficient vaccines and engage in ‘request diplomacy’ to ask for vaccine sharing. If necessary, even plead,” and “Personally lead vaccine development country visits. The president should become the head, and form a government-wide purchasing diplomacy team including the relevant ministers, ruling and opposition lawmakers, medical professionals, and related business figures, and embark on direct tours.”

Ahn emphasized, “Now, expanding medical personnel is more important than ever,” and “We demand the immediate full allowance for fourth-year medical students to retake the national medical licensing exam. If left as is, a medical crisis with a shortage of more than 2,000 new doctors will occur starting early next year, and many people will die.”

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