South Korea's first lady Kim Jung-sook called for international solidarity in developing a vaccine for the coronavirus.

At an event hosted by the International Vaccine Institute(IVI) on Wednesday, Kim said the world is facing an unprecedented crisis from the pandemic and humans are experiencing great pain and sadness without a proper vaccine.

Stressing that the development of a COVID-19 vaccine is of utmost priority, the first lady called on countries around the world to join efforts with IVI to establish vaccine solidarity that transcends borders.

Kim was named the IVI support association's fourth honorary president, succeeding former first ladies Lee Hee-ho, Kwon Yang-sook and Kim Yoon-ok.