President Lee Jae-myung emphasized that manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure modernization should form the core of new bilateral cooperation during his final day of a state visit to the Philippines on June 4.
The president attended the Korea-Philippines Business Forum at the Conrad Hotel in Manila. The forum marked the first ASEAN business forum since Lee took office, drawing approximately 250 participants from both governments and business communities.
The Korean delegation of about 150 included Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, SK Vice Chairman Lee Hyung-hee, Samsung Electronics President Kim Won-kyung, and LG Electronics President Jeong Dae-hwa. The Philippine side featured around 100 attendees, including SM Prime Chairman Hans Sy and Alliance Global Group President Kevin Andrew Tan.
"The Philippines served as a vital artery of global trade from the 16th to 19th centuries through the Manila Galleon trade, connecting Asia, the Americas, and Europe into a single economic zone," Lee said in his remarks. "I hope our complementary economic cooperation will strengthen further, just as ships built by Korean companies at Subic Shipyard now carry Philippine-made products worldwide, creating a second Manila Galleon trade era."
The president highlighted manufacturing cooperation as particularly important. "The Philippines' abundant critical minerals and Korea's advanced industries that utilize them hold great potential for collaboration," he said. "Let us expand cooperation in shipbuilding and electronics, where both countries have high demand for partnership."
"The global trade environment is changing faster than ever," Lee added. "Even amid uncertainty, I urge you to invest boldly in new opportunities based on objective analysis and deep insight."
The forum produced seven memoranda of understanding covering shipbuilding, nuclear power, food, and medical devices. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the Export-Import Bank of Korea signed an MOU with Philippine power company Meralco to jointly develop business and financial models for new nuclear plant projects. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and the Philippine Technical Education and Skills Development Authority signed an MOU on shipbuilding technology development.
Additional agreements included food export and distribution cooperation between Samyang Foods and S&R; a strategic wellness solutions partnership between Ceragem and Belo Medical Group; medical product export cooperation between Jetema and Innomedics Trading for fillers and botox; educational product development between Perigee Aerospace and the Philippine Space Agency, DICT, and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority; and critical mineral value chain cooperation between the Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.