The Philippines-Korea Society was officially launched on Nov. 7, 2019 in an event billed as “Strengthening Future Relations, Beyond 70 Years of Developments.”
The launch coincided with a Special Seminar on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea at Shangri-La at the Fort in Taguig. Key officials from the Philippine government, former ambassadors, experts in international relations, and members of the business and academic community took part in the seminar where 70 years of diplomatic and economic relations as well as academic exchanges and cooperation were discussed.
Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Dong-man Han welcomed the participants led by Socio-Economic Secretary and NEDA Director-General Ernesto M. Pernia and Representative Ann K. Hofer, Chairperson of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Korean Ambassador for Public Diplomacy Jae-bok Chang; former Korean Ambassador to the Philippines and Vietnam and ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary-General Hyuk Lee; former Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Young-sun Kim; University of the Philippines president Danilo L. Concepcion; dean Fernando T. Aldaba of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Social Sciences; and SGV chairman and managing partner J. Carlitos G. Cruz.
The occasion served as the venue for the formal adoption of Senate Resolution No. 159 (Expressing the sense of the Senate in recognizing the unwavering and steadfast friendship between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Korea and commemorating the 70th anniversary of our robust bilateral relations) and House Resolution No. 386 (Recognizing the importance of the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit and welcoming the Bilateral Summit between the Presidents of the Republic of the Philippines and the President of the Republic of Korea).
The seminar set the tone for the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit which will be held on Nov. 25-26 in Busan, South Korea in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Korea-ASEAN dialogue relations. President Rodrigo Duterte’s Bilateral Summit meeting with Korean President Moon Jae-in is expected to further enhance relations between the Philippines and Korea.