Statement by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Joint Press Conference with His Excellency Lee Jae Myung, President of the Republic of Korea
His Excellency President Lee Jae Myung, President of the Republic of Korea,
Esteemed Ministers and officials of the Philippines and the Republic of Korea,
Distinguished guests,
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my distinct honor to welcome His Excellency Lee Jae Myung, the President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), to the Malacañan Palace today.
It is the first time that President Lee has come to the Philippines as President and I am very pleased that he has accepted my invitation for a State Visit. It follows our meeting in Gyeongju on the sidelines of the APEC Summit last October 2025.
President Lee’s visit marks an important milestone in our bilateral relations with the Republic of Korea.
On this very day, we commemorate the 77th anniversary of our diplomatic ties, which have been enriched and strengthened by moments of solidarity, including the Korean War in 1950, through the deployment of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK), the first international contingent of the Philippines.
Our decades of cordial and productive relations, which we elevated to a “Strategic Partnership” in 2024, span various areas of mutual interest.
During our comprehensive meetings, President Lee and I covered a wide range of areas in our bilateral partnership, including defense and security, maritime cooperation, economic and development cooperation, and of course people-to-people exchanges.
We agreed that we have made significant strides in advancing and deepening our bilateral cooperation towards the attainment of our mutually beneficial goals.
We acknowledged the efforts of both sides to enhance bilateral trade and investment and we looked forward to realizing the full potential of the PH-ROK Free Trade Agreement for the benefit of both our peoples.
I expressed appreciation for the Republic of Korea’s invaluable assistance and contributions to:
– the modernization of our Armed Forces and strengthening of our coast guard;
– the investments that help revive our shipbuilding industry and strengthen our role in the semiconductor value chain;
– infrastructure projects such as the Panguil Bay Bridge in Northern Mindanao, among others;
– development programs in health, agricultural mechanization, energy, and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI); and
– the protection of the rights and welfare of the over 70,000 Filipinos living and working in the Republic of Korea.
President Lee and I likewise exchanged views on regional and international issues such as the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula.
We both recognized the growing uncertainty in geopolitical developments, which is why we agreed on the need to firmly and consistently uphold a rules-based order governed by international law, including in the maritime domain.
And as we have just witnessed, we concluded a number of agreements in the fields of defense materials procurement, veterans affairs, agriculture, trade, investment and economic cooperation, intellectual property, digital cooperation, digitalization and innovation, Korean language training in schools, cultural cooperation, and police cooperation, which will sustain the momentum of the Philippines-Republic of Korea Strategic Partnership for the future.
I express once again my heartfelt thanks to President Lee and his delegation for this very fruitful visit.
Thank you very much. [applause]
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