Anchor: The government says it is spending a total of 68 billion Korean won, or around 61 million dollars, to help Korean companies develop their own COVID-19 vaccines at least by early next year. Chairing a coronavirus response meeting on Wednesday, acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said one of the fundamental ways to address the supply problem is to secure vaccine sovereignty, or develop one’s own vaccine. 
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: The government says pharmaceutical companies in South Korea are going to develop a domestic COVID-19 vaccine at least by early next year. 

During a COVID-19 response meeting Wednesday, Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki presented a timetable for what he called “vaccine sovereignty.” 

[Sound bite: Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki (Korean-English translation)]
“The fundamental solution to the vaccine supply problem is to achieve vaccine sovereignty, that is, to have domestically developed vaccines. The government is assisting [Korean companies] in the entire phase of pre-trial, clinical and production of vaccines, spending 68-point-seven billion won this year... "

Earlier this week, Hong announced the government had signed contracts to purchase enough vaccines for almost twice the nation's population. But it is unclear how long the shots available in the market can maintain effective immunity after inoculation. 

Until a cure is developed, vaccines are expected to be key in the fight against the pandemic. 

[Sound bite: Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki (Korean-English translation)]
"The president held a meeting with the CEO of Novavax yesterday to discuss vaccine supply issues and reached an agreement to extend the tech-transfer license-in contract until after next year. I expect that this will help us greatly in securing key technologies... "

Five Korean pharmaceutical companies are currently working on clinical trials, and among them, two have begun phase two clinical tests and are expected to launch phase three tests in the second half of this year. 

The K-Vaccine plan also comes as critics argue that the government’s vaccination program is not running fast enough for a top-ten economic power house. 

On the back of initial quarantine success, less than five percent of the South Korean population has received the first COVID-19 shot as of Wednesday, while around 37 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. 

Hong said the government will keep up with its timetable to achieve herd immunity by November, reiterating that he will make sure the April vaccination target of administering three-million shots will be met in the next three days. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.