Prof. Young Chul Sung personally donates US$8.4 million to IVI to fight epidemics with vaccines

SEOUL, South Korea - June 19, 2019 - PRLog -- The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) held a donation ceremony at its headquarters in Seoul in honor of Prof. Young-Chul Sung of Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) on June 18, 2019. Prof. Sung, a biotech leader who is a member of the Korea Support Committee for IVI (KSC), signed an agreement during the ceremony to personally donate 10 billion KRW (US$8.43 million) to IVI via the KSC.

The donation, the biggest ever to IVI by an individual donor, is earmarked to fund multi-year vaccination projects for the prevention of neglected infectious diseases in children in developing countries in Asia-Pacific and Africa, and laboratory research projects to develop vaccines against emerging viral diseases.

In attendance at the ceremony were Prof. Sung and his wife, Mrs. Okhee Lee, and IVI's leadership team, including: Director General Dr. Jerome Kim; Mr. Francois Belin, COO & CFO; Dr. Manki Song, Acting Deputy Director General of Science; Dr. Florian Marks, Deputy Director General of Public Health, Access and Vaccine Epidemiology; and Dr. Kyung Taik Han, Deputy Director General of Government and Global Affairs at IVI. Also attending the event were Prof. Sang Chul Park, KSC President; Dr. BG Rhee, Chairman of the KSC Board of Trustees; Prof. Wan-Kyoo Cho, KSC Executive Advisor; Prof. Sang Dai Park, Chief Advisor of KSC; and other KSC leaders.

A member of KSC's Board since February 2016, Prof. Sung has already donated 40 million KRW to IVI, including the 25 million KRW that he received after being given the Samil Culture Award last year. "As someone who has personally witnessed Korea's transformation from a foreign aid recipient into a donor country, it's an honor to be able to personally support IVI's humanitarian mission for people in developing countries –especially the children," Prof. Sung said. "As a biomedical scientist, I understand the value and life-saving potential of vaccines for infectious diseases. I am confident that my donation will enable IVI to accelerate its humanitarian endeavors to discover, develop and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health."

"Prof. Sung's donation is a testament to his vision, leadership, and commitment to vaccines and the health of the world's children. It represents a wonderful example of philanthropy set by a global biotech leader. Through this extraordinary contribution to IVI, Prof. Sung has demonstrated his conviction in the power of vaccines," said Dr. Jerome Kim. "IVI will bring Prof. Sung's vision to life by delivering vaccines to children in Asia and Africa and developing novel vaccines against emerging viruses."

"On behalf of IVI's stakeholders and the world's children, KSC expresses its deepest gratitude to Prof. Sung for his generosity," said Prof. Sang-Chul Park. "KSC will closely collaborate with and support IVI to ensure that this grant will be implemented efficiently and transparently in line with Prof. Sung's purpose."

About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is the world's only international organization devoted exclusively to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines to protect the world's poorest people, especially children in developing countries. Established in 1997, IVI operates as an independent international organization under a treaty signed by 35 countries and the World Health Organization. The Institute conducts research in more than 30 countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America on vaccines against enteric and diarrheal infections, Japanese encephalitis, MERS-CoV, Group A Strep, and Schistosomiasis, and develops new and improved vaccines at its headquarters in Seoul, Republic of Korea. For more information, please visit www.ivi.int