South Korea eyes more trade with Phl

SEOUL — South Korea hopes to expand trade relations with the Philippines in the areas of semi-conductor, agriculture and tourism, a diplomat said.

In an interview Wednesday, Second Secretary Shin Cheolbeom of the South Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said what they are focusing on as regards relations with the Philippines are economics and tourism.

Shin, who is Seoul’s desk officer for the Philippines, noted that while the Philippines is one of the first countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that South Korea established diplomatic relations with, the trade volume between the two falls below those of Seoul’s other trading partners in the Asean.

“We would like to strengthen and expand the trade relationship with the Philippines,” Shin told The STAR. 

“One area would be (the) semi-conductor (industry). We have a lot of companies that have production facilities in the Philippines. We export materials there and make the products in the Philippines,” he said.

According to Shin, the Philippines has “a great work force,” most of whom, he said, speak good English. 

“That’s good for both of us,” he said, noting the potential job generation locally. 

Shin said Seoul is also looking into the area of agriculture, citing that more than 90 percent of all banana imports of South Korea are from the Philippines. 

“Philippine bananas are very sweet and fresh. Most of the bananas in our supermarkets are from the Philippines,” he said.

Shin also cited the projected increase of Korean visitors to the Philippines. 

He cited that there were 1.03 million Koreans who visited the Philippines last year.

“We see the figure increasing (in the future). It is already is increasing. The number has been increasing 15 percent per year,” he said. 

He also cited that there were about 300,000 Filipinos who visited Korea last year. 

“That’s a big number for a Southeast Asian country,” he said.