Lee Jae-myung "Better to Have Extra Vaccines" vs Jeong Se-gyun "Already Done"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun sharply responded on the 27th to Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's remark that "it is better to have excess vaccines than to have a shortage," saying, "The government has already done that."

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In an interview with KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' on the morning of the same day, former Prime Minister Chung said, "The government has already done so." When asked by the host whether he thought Governor Lee made the comment out of ignorance of the situation, he replied, "That could be the case," adding, "The government did not make a tight contract but planned and contracted considering possible issues."

He continued, "There are also measures in place for what to do if there is a surplus while preparing in advance for possible problems," emphasizing, "If there is a surplus this year, plans have been made to roll it over to next year. The government has prepared all the strategies on how to handle that."

He reiterated, "I say again that the government is thoroughly preparing for this situation, including measures to prevent waste," stressing the point once more.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Governor Lee stated on Facebook the day before (the 26th), "Just as it is better to have excess than delay, when it comes to life and safety, it is better to have more vaccines than less," adding, "If there is an excess of vaccines, they can be usefully exported to third countries or provided as humanitarian aid amid the global vaccine shortage."

Former Prime Minister Chung has been directly targeting Governor Lee in recent days as he gears up for a presidential bid. In an interview with CBS Radio the previous day, he criticized Lee's independent procurement of Russian vaccines, saying, "If he had attended the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meetings, he would have known about the government's efforts and the vaccine situation, and it would have been difficult to make such remarks. It seems he did not attend the meetings often." He pointed out that Governor Lee had missed several such meetings, saying, "If he knew the government's efforts and the current situation accurately, there would be no need to make such comments."

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