The year 2022 was a time of transition for the Republic of Korea as we all welcomed the administration of new Korean President H.E. Yoon Suk-Yeol. The transition was quickly undertaken as the Korean Government hit the ground running with various initiatives some of which are very important for the Philippines, as a country with 73 years of relations with the Republic of Korea and as a member of ASEAN.

The highlight of our 2022 was the successful holding of a formal bilateral meeting between our leaders, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Korean President Yoon in November 2022.

The Philippines wishes the Yoon Administration success in the coming year, particularly in its policies in areas of increased cooperation and engagement between our two countries as discussed by our Presidents. This includes cooperation in energy, smart farming and food security, digitalization and connectivity, and in green growth.

Our Presidents likewise agreed to work closely towards deeper engagement between ASEAN and Korea with the announcement of Korea’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy and Korea ASEAN Strategic Initiative (KASI).

In 2023, it is our wish to have even more elevated relations as promised by our respective leaders, as both our countries continue to re-open after the pandemic. We look forward to realizing the promise of more strategic Philippines-Korea relations in the coming year and onwards. We likewise wish for the continued peace, prosperity, safety, and good health of the leaders and the peoples of the Philippines and Korea.

The Philippines hopes to continue being a valued partner of the Republic of Korea in advocating for adherence to a rules-based international order and in championing peaceful dialogue and communication particularly on matters which affect the peace and security of our region.

he last twelve months constituted another banner year for Republic of the Philippines and Republic of Korea relations with our historic ties at the core of which are our shared sacrifices during the Korean War. From exchanges of high-level visits and the signing of Veterans, Intellectual Property, and Agriculture-related agreements to the holding of new bilateral meetings on Maritime Cooperation and Science and Technology as well as pursuing Fisheries and Energy Cooperation and the re-opening of people-to-people exchanges, our engagements are becoming even more active. We wish for this trend towards more active relations to continue in keeping with our goal for Philippines-Korea relations, rooted in a shared history, to keep on evolving in the future.