President Moon Jae-in expects South Korea will be able to develop treatments for COVID-19 within the year and vaccines by next year. 

Moon shared his hopes on Thursday during his visit to SK Bioscience in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, one of the local pharmaceutical companies working to develop coronavirus vaccines. 

Calling the development of vaccines and treatments a “mountain to overcome,” Moon assessed that the country is making “considerable” gains in related efforts amid an intensive global competition. 

He said the government’s plan to secure at least 30 million vaccines is also being pursued steadily, vowing to spare no support for local developers. 

Last month, South Korea announced it will secure enough coronavirus vaccines for 30 million people, 60 percent of its population, including 10 million through Friends of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access(COVAX) Facility, a multilateral initiative. 

It seeks to acquire additional vaccines for 20 million people through arrangements with private developers.