You Young-min, presidential chief of staff, speaks during a session of the National Assembly's House Steering Committee in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)South Korea will have 170 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines available next year for the country's population of 52 million, a top Cheong Wa Dae official said Monday.

President Moon Jae-in's Chief of Staff You Young-min made the comment apparently aimed at easing public concerns about the supply of vaccines during a National Assembly session.

The total volume of vaccines that South Korea will be able to use in 2022 will reach 170 million doses, more than treble the nation's population, he said during the meeting of the House Steering Committee.

The government is expected to stockpile 80 million doses brought from this year and plans to procure 90 million additional ones, he added.

You reaffirmed that Moderna Inc. is scheduled to supply South Korea with 7.01 million doses of vaccines by the end of next week. (Yonhap)