PH ENVOY TO ROK SPECIAL GUEST AT CHOSUN BUSINESS CONFERENCE

This year's Conference featured the theme "How a nation succeeds: Advice for the Success of J-Nomics." The Conference formally opened with remarks by Mr. Yongmaan Park, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which represents approximately 170,000-member companies ranging from big businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in ROK. Mr. Park underscored that sound economic policies coupled with the public's support would be vital in carrying out J-Nomics, the signature economic agenda of Korean President Moon Jae-in, advocating job creation as the catalyst for growth.

In his remarks as a keynote speaker, Mayor Park Won-Soon of Seoul Metropolitan City, emphasized that for inclusive economic growth to be attained, there should be a balance between wage growth and innovation growth, that would create opportunities not only for big businesses, but also for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to prosper.

The plenary sessions highlighted presentations by renowned economists such as Professor Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001. In his presentation, Professor Stiglitz espoused a "trickle up approach" emphasizing job creation as the dynamo for growth as opposed to the "trickle down approach" which refers to jobs being generated due to economic growth. Professor Stiglitz commended the Korean government for pursuing a "trickle up approach" focused on spurring job creation to fuel the growth of the economy.

During the Conference, Ambassador Hernandez had the opportunity to meet Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz to convey appreciation for the latter's insights during the conference. The enlightening presentation delivered by Professor Stiglitz on creating a strong middle class through a "trickle up approach", is relevant to the Philippines in light of the current administration's focus on expanding the robust middle class and bolstering the capacity of MSMEs to become a major driver of the Philippine economy.

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