• Visits IVI to attend ‘Vaccine Diplomacy Day’ event at the invitation of IVI and Korea Support Committee
• First Lady Kim: “I am honored to assume the Honorary Presidency. In this capacity, I will do our best to support vaccine development and delivery”

First Lady Kim Keon Hee of the Republic of Korea visited the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) at the invitation of IVI and the Korea Support Committee (KSC) for IVI and was inaugurated as the 5th Honorary President of the Committee on March 9, 2023.

KSC for IVI has traditionally appointed Korean First Ladies as its Honorary President. First Lady Kim attended the ‘IVI Vaccine Diplomacy Day’ event, held under the theme ‘Beyond the Pandemic: IVI – Gift to the Health of the World’s People.’ The event was attended by around 70 participants, including 20 ambassadors and diplomats from various countries, IVI Director General Dr. Jerome Kim, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Dr. Jee Youngmee, Seoul National University President Prof. Ryu Hong-lim, Park Yong-min, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs at the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, vaccine industry leaders, and KSC President Prof. Park Sang-chul.

First Lady Kim said, “I am honored to assume the Honorary Presidency. In this capacity, I will do our best to support vaccine development and delivery.” She concluded her visit to IVI by taking a guided tour to vaccine research laboratories and giving her words of support to scientists and researchers.

As the Committee’s Honorary President, the First Lady is expected to urge countries and the international community to join IVI as member states and strengthen partnerships with the Institute going forward.

“IVI and our partners are deeply grateful to First Lady Kim for accepting this important role and building on the tradition of First Ladies of Korea serving as the Committee’s Honorary President,” IVI Director General Dr. Jerome Kim said in his welcome speech. “We were also delighted to have the diplomatic community joining us on ‘Vaccine Diplomacy Day’ to congratulate and recognize her inauguration, and to thank her for assuming this critical role. We look forward to First Lady Kim’s leadership and our concerted efforts.”

About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.

IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that is currently under assessment for WHO PQ.

IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 39 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.