President Lee visits new flu patients

President Lee Myung-bak urged stepped up government efforts Wednesday to prevent spread of the new flu as he visited a Seoul hospital to observe an ongoing vaccination program, Yonhap News said.

Lee declined to be vaccinated with the priority group of people deemed most vulnerable to the virus, which has claimed 29 lives as of Wednesday, saying he can wait his turn.

"Noting it is one of the country`s main responsibilities to protect the life and health of the people, President Lee urged the government to mobilize all of its capacities to fight the new flu," the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.