Secretary Calls Former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan Possible Death Due To Effects Of COVID-19 Vaccine

President Chun Doo Hwan during a review of South Korea's 1983 joint military exercise with the United States. (Wikimedia Commons/Al CHANG)

JAKARTA - A secretary for Chun Doo-hwan, a former president who died at the age of 90 on Tuesday, claimed Chun's death may have been caused by an abnormal reaction after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

The late Chun seized power in a military coup in 1979 and ruled the country until 1988. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells, last August.

Min Jeong-ki, Chun's former presidential secretary, raised speculation Chun may have developed the disease as a side effect of the coronavirus vaccine, which could have been the cause of his death.

"When I visited him in June this year, he looked unwell. I asked his wife about her health condition, and she replied, 'He lost about 10 kilograms in 10 days, because he lost his appetite after receiving the drug, the COVID vaccine. -19," explained Min when interviewed by a local broadcaster quoting the Korea Times on November 25.

Min further said that Chun received a COVID-19 vaccination using the Pfizer vaccine. However, the exact date when he received the vaccination is not known.

"And then he was diagnosed with leukemia. I've heard incidents like that (diagnosed with leukemia after the COVID-19 vaccine) also happened to other people," Min said, raising speculation Chun's cancer diagnosis might be an abnormal reaction from the vaccine.

Separately, South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would carry out an investigation into Chun's case according to protocol.

"If a suspected abnormal effect is reported, we carry out an investigation according to the policy on vaccine side effects. But we cannot make any conclusions unless an official report is submitted," said Health Ministry spokesman Son Young-rae.

Meanwhile, Jacob Lee, an infectious disease specialist at Hallym University Sacred Hospital, refuted Min's claims, calling them "baseless."

"Many haematologists have repeatedly said that leukemia and vaccines have no causal relationship," he said during an interview with a local radio station.

"And because Chun has multiple myeloma, a type of leukemia that develops very slowly, there is a very small chance that the leukemia is the result of an abnormal reaction to the vaccine."