18 July 2008 - The Philippines and the Republic of Korea (ROK) affirmed the strong momentum of the longstanding and broad relations during the meeting between Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo and South Korean Foreign and Trade Minister Yu Myung-Hwan at Malacañang this afternoon.

Beginning his four-day Official Visit today, Foreign Minister Yu said he was pleased to see the Philippines and ROK continuing to move the bilateral partnership forward. “We have achieved much in many fields,” he said, pointing to increases in levels of trade, investment and tourism. Secretary Romulo echoed the Minister’s view, saying that the bilateral partnership would generate more momentum during the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2009. He further emphasized that the Foreign Minister “blazed the trail” for the excellent state of cooperation. Before assuming his Cabinet position, Foreign Minister Yu was the ROK Ambassador to the Philippines from March 2004 to July 2005. He has been credited by the President for having brought Hanjin and KEPCO into the country during his ambassadorial term. For his efforts, the President awarded him the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Datu. The Philippines and the Republic of Korea have had a robust economic interaction through the years and is considered a very strong point of bilateral ties. Since 2000, ROK has consistently been among the Philippines’ top ten trading partners. Since 2005, bilateral trade has grown by more than 30%. A milestone was reached in 2007 when South Korea became the Philippines’ seventh largest trading partner with two-way trade reaching USD 5.1 billion. Already, there are about 900 Korean companies operating in the Philippines, among them world-renowned firms like Hanjin Heavy Industries, Samsung, LG, the Eastern Group and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). From a few power plants back then, KEPCO has since acquired around 1 billion us dollars in power assets and now generates a seventh of the country’s total capacity. Hanjin’s investments have been even more impressive: its initial 1 billion dollar investment in Subic to the 3.6 billion investments that expanded to Mindanao has turned the Philippines into the 4th largest shipbuilder in the world. Apart from commercial linkages, the Republic of Korea has likewise been a dependable development partner. Since 1988, ROK’s aid program to the Philippines has increased significantly each year. “Our friendly ties have been nurtured not only through official interaction, but at the level of people-to-people contacts as well,” Secretary Romulo emphasized. Korean tourists have consistently topped tourist arrivals in the Philippines, reaching a record high of 653,310 in 2007, up 14 percent from the previous year. On the other hand, some 100,000 Filipino tourists visited Korea last year. Filipinos residing in Korea number around 50,000, nearly half of which are covered by the bilateral Employment Permit System (EPS). Secretary Romulo and Foreign Minister Yu also exchanged views on regional and international developments, specifically the Korean Peninsula, global oil price rises, alternative energy, and the candidature of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Foreign Minister Yu will depart on Monday, 21 July, for Singapore to attend the 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting / Post Ministerial Conferences. END