MFDS Requests WHO Cooperation to Include Domestic Vaccine in Emergency Use Listing

Kim Gang-rip, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Kim Kang-lip, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), requested Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), to cooperate in listing the domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine on the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

The MFDS announced on the 27th that Commissioner Kim, who is a WHO Executive Board member, attended the 150th WHO Executive Board meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland from the 24th to the 29th as the head of the Korean delegation on the 25th, and discussed cooperation measures between Korea and WHO during a meeting with Director-General Ghebreyesus.

At the meeting, Commissioner Kim mentioned the domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine 'GBP510' by SK Bioscience, which is currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials, and requested a prompt review for its future inclusion on the WHO Emergency Use Listing. He emphasized that this vaccine is expected to proceed through the approval process in the first half of this year and highlighted its significance as Korea’s first COVID-19 vaccine and as an accumulation of experience and technology for future infectious disease responses.

Commissioner Kim also expressed agreement with WHO’s plan to expand vaccine and bio-production capacities in low- and middle-income countries to resolve vaccine inequity. He stressed that Korea, which has sufficient related educational programs and infrastructure, would create great synergy if selected as the global bio workforce training hub.

Director-General Ghebreyesus responded that he values the cooperative relationship with Korea and is well aware of Korea’s interest in the WHO bio workforce training hub. He also added that he would willingly discuss the inclusion of Korean vaccines on the Emergency Use Listing.

Director-General Ghebreyesus’s term ends this year. However, as he is the sole candidate in the nomination process for the next Director-General, his reappointment is considered a foregone conclusion. Commissioner Kim also participated in the nomination process for the next Director-General held on the 25th. Ghebreyesus was nominated as the final candidate for the next Director-General through a vote by the Executive Board member states on the same day, and his reappointment will be confirmed through a vote by all member states at the World Health Assembly in May.

Korea is a WHO Western Pacific Region Executive Board member (2020?2023) and Vice-Chair of the Executive Board (2021?2022). Accordingly, Commissioner Kim attended the meeting in Geneva as a member of the 34 Executive Board member states present. After participating in the special session report of the World Health Assembly on the 24th and the nomination process for the next Director-General on the 25th, he returned to Korea. Subsequently, Yoon Chan-sik, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, has been attending the meeting as Korea’s replacement representative.

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