President Moon Jae-in and seven other world leaders on Wednesday called for equal global access to coronavirus vaccines.

The leaders made the call in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post.

In the article titled "The international community must guarantee equal global access to a COVID-19 vaccine," the group called on other global leaders to commit to contributing to an equitable distribution of the vaccine based on the spirit of greater freedom for all.

Moon and the leaders said that almost 200 potential coronavirus vaccine candidates are currently at different stages of development, and there is hope that soon one or more will prove to be both safe and effective. 

The leaders, however, said they cannot allow access to vaccines to increase inequalities within or between countries, stressing that they should be distributed according to transparent, equitable and scientifically sound principles.

The piece was jointly authored by Moon and the leaders of Canada, Ethiopia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Tunisia.