Kim Tae-nyeon: "We Must Stop 'Vaccine Politicization'... Will Announce Vaccination Plan Roadmap"

Kim Sung-joo, Ruling Party Secretary of the Welfare Committee, "The US and UK failed in quarantine and are in urgent situations... Why is Taiwan not criticized?"

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th, and is talking with Han Jeong-ae, chairperson of the Policy Committee, during the meeting. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea announced that it will soon unveil a comprehensive plan for COVID-19 vaccination. Regarding the controversy over vaccine supply delays, they dismissed it as "politicization of vaccines."

Kim Tae-nyeon, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated at a policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 24th, "If there are shortcomings or mistakes in the government's quarantine response due to vaccine supply delays, they should naturally be pointed out and improvements should be made. However, actions that shake the quarantine system with false information and distorted statistics to gain political advantage do not help protect the lives of the people at all."

Regarding the delay in domestic vaccine supply, he emphasized, "Typically, other vaccines take 4 to 8 years or more just for clinical trials to complete the development process. But the COVID vaccine was developed urgently. Therefore, infectious disease and medical experts in our country unanimously say that we need to observe the vaccination situations in the United States and the United Kingdom."

He continued, "The government has secured vaccines for 44 million people and has reported to the public that sequential vaccinations will begin in February to March and be completed by November. Efforts are also being made to secure more vaccine supplies and advance the vaccination schedule."

He added, "In the meantime, the opposition party’s excessive politicization of vaccines, which stirs public confusion, must stop. The Democratic Party will prepare a comprehensive roadmap for vaccination through party-government consultations, transparently report to the public, and announce the comprehensive vaccination plan."

Kim Sung-joo, the ruling party's secretary of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, also said, "The United States and the United Kingdom had to urgently approve and administer vaccines because they failed in quarantine and are in a much more urgent situation. Foreign media report that Taiwan and South Korea, which have relatively succeeded in quarantine, are taking a cautious stance."

He added, "As far as I know, Taiwan has not yet contacted private companies except for receiving supplies from COVAX early next year. Taiwan’s vaccine accessibility has sharply dropped to 26%. Why is there no voice of criticism from the opposition parties in Taiwan about this?" he questioned.

He further stated, "Because there are differences in the outcomes of each country's quarantine policies, the speed and seriousness with which vaccines are approached vary. However, some opposition parties and media in our country deny this. Undermining K-quarantine is seen as destroying national pride," he criticized.

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