"Bill Gates Praises Korean Bioscience as Astonishing... Lee Vows to Seek Ways to Collaborate"

President Lee Meets Bill Gates
Gates Requests Korea's Contribution to Reducing Global Child Mortality
President Lee Pays Tribute to Joint Efforts for the Planet

President Lee Jaemyung met with Bill Gates, Chairman of the Gates Foundation, and expressed his respect for the foundation's public health initiatives. Chairman Gates introduced the foundation's goal of reducing global child mortality and requested the contribution of Korea's bio industry.

Yonhap News Agency

On the 21st, at the presidential office in Yongsan, President Lee met with Chairman Gates and said, "Bill Gates developed Windows, which I also use for email, allowing people around the world to see the world through a window. Now, he is developing public goods for humanity, such as vaccines, and I truly respect that." He added, "I pay tribute to your joint activities for the entire planet, and the Korean government will do its utmost to find ways to participate."

Chairman Gates introduced the goal of reducing child mortality and asked for Korea's efforts. He said, "In 2000, the annual number of deaths among children under five was 10 million, but now it has fallen below 5 million. Our goal is to reduce this number to less than 2 million per year over the next 20 years."

He continued, "There are two ways Korea can play a key role in this field. The first is through Korea's innovative products." Chairman Gates remarked, "Korean bioscience products are at a remarkable level. Just ten years ago, these industries were quite small, but they have grown into very large and important sectors."

Chairman Gates also emphasized the importance of funding and resources. He cited the creation of vaccine funds for children and the Global Fund to tackle HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis as major changes in global health activities since the 2000s.

Additionally, Chairman Gates said, "Recently, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the foundation, where I pledged to spend all of my wealth and all the foundation's funds within 20 years. We will use about $200 billion, focusing mainly on global health."

Regarding changes in the global environment surrounding Korea, Chairman Gates noted, "There have been geopolitical changes as well as technological changes such as artificial intelligence (AI). I believe this is a great opportunity to review current strategies and for Korea to strengthen its position in developing solutions."

Yonhap News Agency

Chairman Gates, co-founder of Microsoft (MS), arrived in Korea on the 20th. This is his first visit to Korea in three years since 2022. Through the foundation, Chairman Gates has been actively involved in areas such as climate change, poverty eradication, and public health. It is reported that, during this visit, he is also pursuing collaboration with Korean pharmaceutical companies for a vaccine distribution project targeting low-income countries.

Meanwhile, Chairman Gates is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Kim Minseok at the Seoul official residence following his meeting with President Lee. He is also expected to attend the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, where he will introduce the global health projects the foundation has promoted and propose ways to expand cooperation with Korea.

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