The South Korean government will seek to finalize deals to purchase COVID-19 vaccines with Johnson and Johnson's Janssen and Pfizer this month, and with Moderna next month.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Friday, Seoul is expected to reach a formal agreement with Janssen as early as next week to secure enough doses for four million people.

The government is seeking to conclude a deal on doses for ten million people with Pfizer, and for another ten million people with Moderna.

The planned deals are a part of the government's vaccination program with the aim to inoculate up to 44 million people, or 85 percent of the population.

Under the program, doses for ten million people will come from COVAX Facility, a World Health Organization mechanism designed to guarantee equitable access to vaccines. Out of the one-point-three-trillion-won budget for the program, 85 billion won was paid to COVAX in advance.

The shots for the remaining 34 million are set to be purchased from the global vaccine developers. So far Seoul has finalized a deal with AstraZeneca to import enough doses for ten million people.

The vaccines are expected to be shipped in phases starting in February.