Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has instructed health officials to be fully ready by the end of this month for COVID-19 vaccination set to begin next month. 

Chung made the remark on Tuesday during his visit to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, while being briefed on the preparations for the inoculation program. 

He said detailed plans should be drafted swiftly so inoculations can begin anytime after the end of January. Previously, the KDCA said vaccine administration for priority groups, including medical workers and residents of elderly care facilities, will start in late February.

The prime minister noted the challenge of administering a variety of vaccine products to the public in a short time span but emphasized the government needs to prove its capacity by exerting all-out efforts. 

He also said that delay of inoculations or disposal of vaccines reported in some other countries should never occur in South Korea, asking officials to learn lessons from those failures overseas.