Oh Se-hoon's Vaccine Procurement Criticized for 'Lack of Diplomatic Skills'... "Appoint a Vaccine Ambassador"

Mayor Oh Se-hoon Proposes Appointment of Vaccine Ambassador at Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting
"Vaccination Rate at 15%, Lowest Among OECD Countries, Problem Lies in Vaccine Supply"
"Emphasizing Quarantine Guidelines to Endure and Follow Is Not a Solution"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is giving an opening remark at the emergency district mayor meeting related to COVID-19 held at the Seoul City Hall Integrated Safety Situation Room on the 20th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon pointed out that the delay in securing vaccines is due to a 'lack of diplomatic capability' and proposed appointing a 'vaccine envoy' to be dispatched to major countries.

On the 13th, Mayor Oh said, "I attended the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting and proposed appointing a dedicated envoy for vaccine procurement and dispatching them to major countries around the world such as Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Singapore to negotiate vaccine swap agreements and devise all possible strategies to secure vaccines."

Mayor Oh stated, "Germany, with a vaccination completion rate of 53.7%, is reviewing various utilization plans such as collecting leftover vaccines with two months remaining shelf life and providing them overseas free of charge. The United States is also considering providing leftover Moderna vaccines to Mexico and has announced a donation of 500 million doses of Pfizer vaccines. In this situation, we must pool wisdom and strength to enhance diplomatic capabilities to secure the insufficient vaccines," he said.

Recently, Moderna notified a production shortfall, reducing the vaccine supply to South Korea by more than half, prompting the government to extend the vaccination interval from 4 weeks to 6 weeks to manage the situation. In response, Mayor Oh directly criticized the government and called for an expansion of 'vaccine diplomacy.'

Referring to President Moon's remark that "the recent increase in confirmed cases is a global phenomenon due to the spread of the Delta variant and is relatively better than other countries," Mayor Oh said, "When looking only at the vaccination completion rate, it is hard to dispel doubts about this, and the problem lies in 'vaccine procurement.'"

He pointed out, "Emphasizing only quarantine guidelines asking citizens to endure and comply is not a solution. According to data from Our World In Data on the 8th, South Korea's COVID-19 vaccination completion rate is 15%, ranking last among the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and even lower than the global average of 15.3%."

Mayor Oh said, "Vaccine supply should not be disrupted due to the government's lack of diplomatic capability. I requested active utilization of the private diplomatic capabilities and channels of global companies."

He added, "Not only the government but also all means and methods that can be done together with the private sector must be mobilized to ensure smooth vaccine supply, which is the way to repay citizens, small business owners, and self-employed people with mature civic consciousness."

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