South Korea's COVID-19 vaccine roll-out will expand to the general public from next month.

The government is considering inoculating elderly people first.

In a meeting at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Saturday, Interior and Safety Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said that vaccinations for the general public will begin in April with a detailed timetable to be announced next week.

He said that as soon as recipient groups are determined, a consent request process will take place from next week at each administrative unit level.

The minister added the government will seek measures to ensure people can safely travel from their homes to local vaccination centers and confirm that follow-up procedures are in place.

Jeon also promised to monitor vaccine supply and ramp up the speed of inoculations to achieve the goal of 12 million people receiving shots in the year's first half.

So far, close to 583-thousand-700 people in South Korea have received their first jabs, accounting for 74 percent of the first priority group that includes healthcare workers and patients and employees at elderly care facilities.