Seoul expects the country to gain leverage in the global COVID-19 vaccine supply after South Korean firm Samsung Biologics signed a consignment deal to manufacture Moderna vaccines at its local factory.

Following the South Korea-U.S. summit in Washington last week, the Health Ministry also signed a memorandum of understanding(MOU) with South Korea's SK Bioscience and Novavax on vaccine development and production.

Appearing on a local radio program on Monday, Sohn Young-rae, a senior Health Ministry official, said the allies' vaccine partnership will combine U.S. vaccine technology and its raw material supply chain with South Korea's production capacity.

While India, a country with similar production capacity, struggles amid a recent uptick in virus cases, the official assessed that South Korea, which is in a relatively stable situation, will expand its role in the global supply.

Seoul and domestic pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, aim to develop the country's first messenger ribonucleic acid(mRNA) vaccine by next year.