SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—Mayor Edwin D. Santiago has denied the request of Korean expatriates to establish a community here, saying the international company Ikea was showing interest in investing in the area.
Members of the Korean Community Association of Central Luzon living in Angeles City, who number 16,000, made the request, Santiago said.
They were “feeling uneasy” in their current homes in San Fernando after the controversial murder of their compatriot Jee Ick Joo, who was abducted by policemen for supposedly being an illegal drug dealer, the mayor said.
They were asking for 10 to 30 hectares of land in the city to be converted into a Korean community, but because of limited land, Santiago said he turned down their request.
He instead offered them to invest to the city’s business zone at barangay San Isidro, as would Ikea, the Swedish international firm renowned for its merchandise.
The company sells around 10,000 articles in various categories made of different materials from 33 countries, and employs 154,000 persons.
Ikea’s plan was relayed to Santiago by a group of businessmen who visited the city last week, the mayor said.
If not this city, the Koreans are also eyeing Subic, where they are interested in establishing another community apart from the one existing along the Friendship Highway in Angeles City, Santiago said.
Although they are all over the Central Luzon region, the Koreans want a territory or village of their own, catering exclusively to their fellow Koreans.
The Koreans in the region are hardworking and mostly engaged in legitimate businesses like restaurants, bakeries, groceries, travel agencies, and wellness centers, Santiago said.