President Moon Jae-in has pledged all-out state support for local developers of COVID-19 vaccine following the approval of phase three clinical trials for SK Bioscience’s vaccine candidate. 

According to Presidential Spokesperson Park Kyung-mee on Tuesday, Moon said that the government will provide active support for swift clinical trials in the nation. The president also expressed his hope to see commercialization of the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, the spokesperson said. 

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that GBP510 developed by SK Bioscience is the country's first locally-developed vaccine candidate to enter the final phase of clinical trials.

Moon has stressed vaccine sovereignty several times amid lingering uncertainty in vaccine supplies, including a meeting with his aides last week where he pledged efforts on developing locally developed vaccine so the nation would have to rely on overseas manufacturers.