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Bill Gates’ Seoul Meetings Deepen Global Health Collaboration, Propel SMR Cooperation Talks

The visit linked Korea’s vaccine capabilities with prospective TerraPower partnerships to support health and energy goals.

In this photo provided by SK bioscience Co., Trevor Mundel (3rd from L), president of Global Health at the Gates Foundation; Chey Chang-won (4th from L), vice chairman of SK discovery; and Ahn Jae-yong (5th from L), CEO of SK bioscience, pose with other officials after a meeting on global health projects in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok (R) poses for a photo with Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation and Microsoft Corp. co-founder, during their meeting at Kim's official residence in Seoul on Aug. 21, 2025. (Yonhap)
Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation and Microsoft Corp. co-founder, arrives in South Korea via Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center in western Seoul on Aug. 20, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae Myung (R) shakes hands with Bill Gates, the chair of the Gates Foundation, during their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 21, 2025. (Yonhap)

Overview

  • SK bioscience and the Gates Foundation met on Aug. 20 in Yeouido to expand work on next-generation preventive medicines with an emphasis on pandemic preparedness R&D.
  • President Lee Jae Myung met Gates on Aug. 21 to discuss broader global health efforts, as Gates praised Korea’s vaccine and diagnostics strengths and encouraged greater support for Gavi and the Global Fund.
  • Gates also met Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, with both sides pointing to synergies between Korea’s biotech capacity and the foundation’s global network to help firms expand internationally.
  • Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met Gates on Aug. 22 to discuss cooperation between TerraPower and Korean companies on small modular reactors, noting SK Group and SK Innovation’s 300 billion won investment in 2022.
  • The RIGHT Foundation gathered Korean health companies and Gates Foundation representatives to review investment approaches and projects aimed at expanding vaccine access in low-income countries.