Executive Director's Message
alliance and mutual respect
Much of the RIGHT Foundation’s existence since its establishment in 2018 has coincided with the first pandemic in modern times. The Foundation was established with intent to propel Korea as a growing ally in global health R&D collaboration with the mission of contributing to improving health and health equity globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a fresh sense of urgency and necessity to this mission.
On one hand, the pandemic confirmed that health technologies including vaccines and diagnostics are valuable in protecting the public in times of acute health emergencies. On the other hand, the pandemic reminds us that the production of health technologies is not sufficient to ensure that these technologies benefit all. Health inequity is rooted in the inequalities in the ownership of material resources and knowledge. For technologies to serve our collective well-being, we must share resources, knowledge, and decision-making power over key parameters of health R&D, including what technologies would be useful in which contexts and how.
In pursuit of our mission of health equity, we reimagine what health R&D collaboration should look like. At a minimum, it is one that enables an exchange of knowledge about what would or would not be considered valuable technologies in particular health system contexts across countries, with a sense of humility and mutual respect. It is collaboration in the spirit of transnational solidarity and allyship for our collective well-being. It is distinct from leadership from an assumed sense of cultural or technological superiority. We believe such a model of collaboration is necessary to ensure that any technologies purported to serve global public health will have a sustainable and equitable impact, and that is the model of collaboration that the RIGHT Foundation aspires to catalyze.
Our vision is to become a platform for international collaboration to develop essential health technologies as global public goods that can benefit all. We are young and have a long way ahead towards our mission. We are grateful for all those of you who are on this journey with us.
Executive Director Hani Kim, Ph.D
The RIGHT Foundation (RIGHT) is Korea’s first public–private partnership non-profit organization, established in 2018 through joint contributions from the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Gates Foundation, and Korean life science companies, with the aim of advancing global health equity.
To address infectious diseases that affect low- and middle-income countries, RIGHT supports R&D for essential medical countermeasures, including vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. It also works to ensure that supported technologies and products can be delivered to where they are most needed through public procurement mechanisms.
Since its establishment in 2018, RIGHT has supported a total of 79 projects, investing KRW 136.4 billion (USD 102.1 million), and has mobilized co-funding amounting to KRW 351.9 billion (USD 263.3 million). As a result of these efforts, a number of supported products and technologies have obtained regulatory approvals and certifications, including WHO Prequalification (PQ), EU CE-IVDR certification, and regional licensure, enabling their supply across multiple countries and contributing meaningfully to improved global health outcomes. In response to the rising burden of infectious diseases driven by climate change and global warming, RIGHT has supported 27 projects focused on the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for climate-sensitive diseases.
In 2025, RIGHT expanded its program scope. This includes extending R&D support to evidence generation to support product development, as well as implementing training programs to strengthen the capacity of essential health workforce in low- and middle-income countries.
We extend our sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Gates Foundation, life science companies, and global partners whose continued support has enabled RIGHT’s work to date. RIGHT will continue to provide support and foster collaboration that deliver tangible progress toward global health equity.
Thank you for your continued interest and support.