The International Vaccine Institute, a Seoul-based independent nonprofit agency, said Monday that LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo has personally donated 1 billion won ($836,120) to develop therapies for the new coronavirus.

Koo hopes his donation would help speed up the development of vaccines to tackle the unprecedented pandemic, the organization said.

The donation will be used to study methods to prevent infections, improving the human immune response to COVID-19 vaccines and for strengthening IVI’s ability to measure important immune responses induced by vaccines.

“IVI will work with partner agencies to make sure that vaccines are developed as soon as possible, Chairman Koo’s precious donation will benefit people who have been impacted globally,” said IVI Director General Jerome Kim.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)