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| President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech at Culture Station Seoul 284 in central Seoul, Sunday, to mark the nation's liberation from Japan's colonial rule. Yonhap |
President offers no surprises on North Korea, Japan
By Kang Seung-woo
President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that 70 percent of South Koreans will have been fully vaccinated by October, adding the government will further raise the nation's target rate.
In addition, he pledged to help domestic companies develop their own COVID-19 vaccines by the first half of next year.
His promises, made during a ceremony to mark the nation's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, come amid the ongoing pandemic that has intensified due to a shortage of vaccines.
"When it comes to the COVID-19 crisis ― compared to any other advanced nation ― our country is overcoming it in a stable manner. We will also surely prevail over this fourth wave fueled by the spread of the Delta variant," Moon said during the event held at Culture Station Seoul 284 in central Seoul.
"The inoculations are also approaching their target. In October, 70 percent of the total population will have received their second shots, and vaccination rate targets will be raised once more."
The number of people who have received the second dose of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single-shot vaccine has reached 9.73 million as of Sunday, accounting for 19 percent of the total population.
However, U.S. vaccine producer Moderna recently notified the government that it would ship less than half of the 8.5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine scheduled for August, raising concerns that the nation's goal of achieving herd immunity by November may hit a snag.
In the wake of the delayed shipment, the government sent officials to the U.S. company's headquarters last week, who urged the drugmaker to speed up its delivery to Seoul in accordance with the prior contract.
Also, the President said the country will take a leap toward becoming a vaccine hub on the back of the nation's biopharmaceutical production capacity, which is the second-largest in the world.
"On Aug. 5, a committee was launched to hasten our becoming a global vaccine hub, which I hope will play a pivotal role by providing intensive support for developing and supplying the raw and processed materials needed for vaccines," Moon said.
"The government will join the efforts of businesses to put the first domestic vaccine on the market by the end of the first half of next year."
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| President Moon Jae-in, second from left, first lady Kim Jung-sook, third from left, and other guests cheer during a ceremony to mark National Liberation Day at Culture Station Seoul 284 in central Seoul, Sunday. Korea was liberated from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, Aug. 15, 1945, upon the latter's surrender at the end of World War II. Yonhap |
Meanwhile, the President's speech did not offer any surprises about relations with North Korea or Japan.
Marking the 30th anniversary of South and North Korea both joining the United Nations, Moon stressed the need to institutionalize peace on the Korean Peninsula, which he believes will "greatly" benefit both Koreas.
"Division is the biggest obstacle blocking our growth and prosperity and simultaneously a tenacious barrier to permanent peace," he said, proposing a Germany-style trust-building system toward the longer-term goal of unification.
"Although unification may take some time, we can create a Korean Peninsula model, in which the two Koreas coexist and contribute to the prosperity of Northeast Asia as a whole through denuclearization and permanent peace on the Peninsula."
Amid an ongoing dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over historical issues, Moon repeated his previous two-track stance, simply saying his government has always kept the door open for dialogue to jointly respond not only to pending bilateral issues, but threats facing the world, including COVID-19 and the climate crisis.
Despite the olive branch, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sent offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine on the occasion of the anniversary of the end of World War II, according to Japanese media outlets.
The shrine memorializes Japan's war dead, including 1,068 war criminals from World War II, 14 of whom were Class A war criminals. Visits or offerings by Japanese government officials often become a source of tension between Japan and neighboring countries including Korea and China which view it as a symbol of Japan's past imperialism.
During the ceremony, Moon also commemorated the repatriation of the remains of General Hong Beom-do on the occasion of National Liberation Day.
Hong was the commander of the Greater Korea Independence Army that fought against imperial Japan from bases in China. He spearheaded historic victories at the battles of Fengwudong and Qingshanli. Later, he became a spiritual anchor for the ethnic Koreans who were forced to migrate to Kazakhstan.
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