An "Ki Mo-ran, the one who said 'vaccine year-end release' was a bluff"... Government intensifies full-scale offensive on vaccine policy

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party (above), and Kim Ye-ryeong, spokesperson of the People Power Party (below) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] On the 24th, as the government announced the additional procurement of 20 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, the conservative opposition continues its offensive against the government's COVID-19 vaccine policy. Following the People Power Party's call for the government to "honestly confess the failure of the vaccine policy and launch an all-out 'vaccine procurement' effort," Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, also joined in.

On the 25th, at the Korean Medical Association’s regular general assembly held in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Ahn targeted Ki Moran, the Blue House’s quarantine planning officer. He criticized, "Last May, I said, 'Vaccines might be available as early as the end of the year, so we should prepare.' However, at that time, someone in the Blue House called it a 'politician’s bluffing'."

He also pointed out that the government did not block entry from China at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. He said, "Taiwan, which banned entry from China, has had about 1,100 confirmed cases so far. Experts in our country also argued for this early on, but their opinions were ignored."

Furthermore, Ahn expressed concerns about the variant virus, stating, "We are currently at the early stage of the fourth large-scale outbreak." He added, "The South African variant virus has only 10% efficacy even with the AstraZeneca vaccine. If the variant virus spreads, the vaccines currently being administered may become ineffective." He urged, "The government must accept the facts known by experts, including doctors."

Kim Ye-ryeong, spokesperson for the People Power Party, also criticized the government’s vaccine policy in a statement that day. She said, "As vaccine supply faces difficulties, proposals to consider the introduction of Russian and Chinese vaccines have been raised, mainly by ruling party politicians including Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung. In a situation where anxiety about vaccination itself is widespread, which citizen would willingly receive a Chinese vaccine?"

Spokesperson Kim criticized, "Although criticism of the ruling party is inevitable, the government dismisses it as fake news and blames the opposition for the vaccine shortage. This is like refusing to be disciplined but instead wielding the disciplinary stick."

She emphasized, "The public remembers that the government’s policy failures have delayed the recovery of daily life, which has directly struck the livelihood economy. The government and ruling party must seriously acknowledge that not only health but also the people's means of survival have become bleak, and they must take responsibility accordingly."

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