Gominjeong: "Vaccines Are Not Bought Like Online Shopping... It's Not Too Late"

Democratic Party lawmaker Go Min-jung and People Power Party lawmaker Hwang Bo Seung-hee. Photo by JTBC, captured from 'New Year's Special Debate'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Go Min-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 5th regarding the controversy that the government was late in securing COVID-19 vaccines, "Vaccines are not something you can purchase just by clicking a button like online shopping."

Go appeared on the 'JTBC New Year Special Debate' that day and said, "It is wrong to criticize the vaccine procurement and vaccination as delayed by simply comparing with countries like the United States, where the number of COVID-19 deaths is more than 50 times higher than ours."

She explained, "The government already stated in early December that it had secured vaccines for 43 million people, and by the end of December, it had secured vaccines for 56 million people, which is the current fact. Therefore, vaccine procurement was not delayed, and it was possible now because the government had been preparing for a long time."

She continued, "Contracts and purchases of vaccines are subject to confidential agreements between countries, so it is not easy to disclose when and how much will be imported at any given time," adding, "I think the partisan disputes are meaningless now that vaccines have been secured. The ruling and opposition parties should focus more on preparing for the post-COVID era."

Hwang Bo-seung-hee, a member of the People Power Party who also appeared on the broadcast, said, "Vaccines are the only answer to protect our people and end COVID-19 as soon as possible. The government should have expedited vaccine procurement," and pointed out, "It is also dangerous to say that vaccination can be delayed because the number of confirmed cases is low."

Hwang added, "The current situation of self-employed people and small business owners is very bad. Recently, a gym owner in Daegu took their own life due to economic difficulties," and said, "It is necessary to end COVID-19 as soon as possible, and since vaccines are the only answer, the government should have accelerated vaccine procurement."

Regarding the opposition party raising issues about vaccine procurement, Go said, "Seeing this, I even think the opposition party is a political party that feeds on the public’s anxiety."

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