Korean companies donate to help Vietnam to buy vaccines

Korean companies operating in Vietnam have donated millions of dollars to help the Southeast Asian nation procure coronavirus vaccines, officials in Hanoi said Sunday.

Samsung Electronics reportedly donated about 2.8 billion won ($2.48 million) to the central and provincial governments in Vietnam earlier this month, with some 480 million won provided to Bac Ninh Province.

Vietnam is the largest smartphone production base for Samsung, the world's leading smartphone vendor.

Following Samsung, SK Group donated $1 million to the Vietnamese government last week.

Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long thanked the companies for their support to Vietnam's national vaccine fund that will be used for the procurement, research and development of Covid-19 vaccines, Korean Embassy officials said.

LG Electronics, which runs home appliance plants, handed over 1.55 billion won to the provincial government of Hai Phong, while food and entertainment giant CJ Group donated 320 million won. Shinhan Bank provided 290 million won to Vietnam's Covid-19 vaccine fund.

With the resurgence of the novel coronavirus, the Vietnamese government last month announced the creation of the national vaccine fund, while asking businesses, even foreign companies, to open their wallets to join its vaccination efforts. Yonhap