ⓒYONHAP News

In a televised New Year's address on Monday, President Moon Jae-in said the government will ensure that everyone receives COVID-19 vaccinations free of charge when the country's inoculation program rolls out next month.

The president vowed to exert efforts to quickly end the current third wave of the epidemic, an urgent task in order to return to a world where masks are no longer needed.

Moon also promised a prompt economic recovery and making opportunity out of the crisis to become a global leader in the post-coronavirus era.

He underlined efforts to return the economy to pre-COVID levels within the first half of the year, by implementing an expansionary budget and 110 trillion won in investment initiatives in both the public and private sectors.

Thirty-point-five trillion won will be injected into creating jobs for the most vulnerable in the first quarter. To reduce the socioeconomic gap, social and job safety nets will be strengthened.