Korea steps up pandemic response with $18.9m investment in CEPI

OSLO/SEOUL, 4 Dec—The Republic of Korea has announced new $18.9 million support to bolster national and global efforts to protect against the next deadly pandemic and boost international health security.

The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide the important funding as its annual contribution to investments in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an international organisation committed to advancing the development of vaccines and other tools to protect against emerging viral threats —like MERS, Lassa fever, Chikungunya and a new ‘Disease X’—in as little as 100 days so they are accessible to all in need. 

The new financial contribution agreement was signed today at a meeting with Ambassador Minjeong Seo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Norway, and the CEO of CEPI, Dr Richard Hatchett, held at CEPI’s Headquarters in Norway’s capital, Oslo. 

At the meeting, Ambassador Seo welcomed the progress made under the CEPI 2.0 strategy and noted that the Republic of Korea, fully recognising the importance of pandemic preparedness, will continue to work closely with CEPI.  She also remarked that CEO Dr Hatchett's visit to Korea next year is very timely and expressed her hope for it to be successful.

The funds will support CEPI’s pandemic preparedness and response efforts through to the end of 2026, before the public-private partnership launches its new strategy. The new pandemic preparedness plan, CEPI 3.0, will focus on building the world’s readiness to deliver the 100 Days Mission in response to the next global epidemic or pandemic crisis.

Protecting people in as little as three months from the identification of a Disease X is around a third of the time it took to create the first COVID-19 vaccines. This could help save millions of lives and avert trillions of global economic damage.

Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said: “We don’t know where or when the next pandemic threat may strike, but we know it’s coming – and the world cannot afford to be caught off guard again. Korea’s continued investment in CEPI is a powerful commitment to that readiness, and sends a strong, urgent message to the world that preparedness matters. With its exceptional R&D capacity and proven ability to mobilize fast, Korea is powering a partnership that brings us closer to one shared ambition: ending pandemics for good.”

Including today’s funding commitment, the Korean Government has now invested US $70 million to CEPI. Their financial commitment has supported pioneering academic and pharmaceutical research against epidemic and pandemic threats both in Korea and around the world. 

Groundbreaking research and development partners backed by CEPI in Korea include SK Bioscience – the developers behind Korea’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, SKYCovione™, who are now working with CEPI to expand their work and develop a vaccine that could protect against multiple coronaviruses. The vaccine candidate is due to enter clinical testing following trial reviews in upcoming months. 

CEPI also holds a partnership with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) committing the two organisations to accelerating the development of vaccines and other biological countermeasures against public health threats.  KDCA and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) are also part of the CEPI established Centralised Laboratory Network.  This is the world’s largest network dedicated to standardised testing of epidemic and pandemic vaccines.  Having a footprint in Korea can help the region more quickly response to emerging local outbreaks and enhance preparedness for emerging infectious diseases.    

CEPI has been engaging in key Korean scientific forums including attendance at the World Bio Summit and the International Vaccine Industry Forum in October 2025.  CEPI also continues to engage with leading supercomputing platforms such as Korean Institute for Science Technology Information (KISTI), which is hosted at the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT, to discuss the potential of Korea as an exemplar AI hub for outbreak response. Discussions support CEPI’s development of the Pandemic Preparedness Engine, a revolutionary new AI platform that could revolutionize R&D for future pandemics.