Learning from Korea

In the mid-1960s, South Koreans came to the Philippines to study how our first expressway was constructed.

Those were the days when our country was seen in Asia as second only to Japan in most human development indicators.

The Philippines has not stagnated; our country has achieved much progress in the past half-century.

We become dismayed only when we consider how much more progress our neighbors have achieved, and how much we have been left behind.

Despite partition of its peninsula and continuing armed tension with its northern neighbor, a long period of dictatorship and political unrest, South Korea has managed to sprint way ahead of us.

Today the South Koreans are building top-quality roads that don’t disintegrate into a moonscape during rains. They have some of the world’s largest shipbuilding facilities and they have established global brands. Their automotive industry is thriving worldwide; Hyundai and Kia enjoy a 14 percent market share in the Philippines. Globally, the market share of Korean brands such as Samsung and LG in consumer electronics is about 40 percent.

“Koreans are doing well all around the world,” South Korea’s new ambassador to Manila, Hye-min Lee, told us during a visit to The STAR the other day.

A good indicator of who has made more progress is who is aiding whom. The Philippines is currently the second largest recipient, after war-torn Afghanistan (which is considered a special case by Seoul), of official development assistance from South Korea.

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Diplomats tend to look on the bright side, and Lee is no different. He sees vast potential for Philippine economic growth.

Lee handled bilateral trade matters for much of his three-decade career in the foreign service. He sees the Philippines as a good trading partner and investment destination because of its “very very competent” and English-proficient workforce and abundant raw materials. Lee also cites the Philippines’ “strategic location” with its proximity to the huge Chinese market and the high-tech economies of Japan and South Korea.

“The Philippines has a very high economic potential,” Lee said as he reminded us that tourism is “a very important element of economic policy.”

And here comes the caveat: Koreans don’t feel safe enough in this country, although their tourists continue to arrive in droves and there are currently 120,000 South Korean expatriates all over the Philippines.

The Koreans see the hostage incident at the Quirino Grandstand on Aug. 23 as an isolated incident and aren’t worried about a possible repeat.

What they are worried about is the peace and order situation in general, which has led to deadly attacks on Koreans upon their arrival in Manila.

On the same day that dismissed cop Rolando Mendoza hijacked that busload of tourists from Hong Kong (three had Canadian passports, and the incident was also played up live on Canadian TV), a Korean pastor was tailed upon his arrival at the NAIA by a band of six women and one man. The group waylaid the Koreans’ van along Ortigas Avenue Extension in Pasig, killing the pastor after robbing him. His two companions in his van were kidnapped by the armed group but later freed after being robbed.

In July, an American and his wife who had just arrived at the NAIA were also tailed and then waylaid by an armed group along EDSA in Mandaluyong City. The victims lost their sport utility vehicle and P2.5 million in cash and other valuables.

A month before that, Jorge Bernas, brother-in-law of Luli Arroyo, was also robbed and shot, reportedly by the same group, in Pasig as he was being driven home from the NAIA.

“Security is a big concern for us. We’re very much concerned about that,” Ambassador Lee told us. “I hope that the Philippine government strengthens the surveillance and security at the airport.”

He said his embassy has raised the problem with Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, who is currently under fire for the hostage crisis. Robredo promised a thorough investigation, Lee said.

The ambassador noted that the Philippines is “second to none” in terms of tourist attractions in Southeast Asia. The country attracts some 600,000 tourists from South Korea every year. “This heightens the importance of security,” Lee said.

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With regular air raid drills in their capital, security is not a selling point of South Korea to tourists and investors. But the Koreans have done their homework in achieving phenomenal growth since the mid-60s.

Filipinos remember the Koreans in particular for arresting, convicting and sending to prison two of their former presidents – authoritarian rulers who were credited with the country’s economic takeoff, but who were sentenced for corruption and gross human rights violations. Both were subsequently pardoned. Former heads of influential, powerful chaebols or business conglomerates – the men behind Korea’s famous global brands – were also convicted and sent behind bars, dismantling the core of crony capitalism.

Lee won’t tell other countries what must be done. When we pressed him for tips on how to deal with corruption, he said he could only cite their experience.

For them, he said, the best way to deal with the problem was to foster transparency in government transactions. Another key factor was deregulation.

“If there is a power to regulate, there is always an opportunity for corruption,” he told us. “Liberalize, leave things to market forces.”

Lee emphasized that corruption has not been completely eradicated from their society. But these days in Korea, there is much less corruption at high levels of government, he said, which makes it easier for them to deal with lower level corruption.

The Internet has also made public scrutiny of government deals easier, he noted, promoting transparency and good governance.

Lee, the first ambassador to present his credentials to President Aquino, said he is impressed with the new government team and is bullish about the Philippines.

“I’m very happy to be here at this important point of our bilateral relations,” he told us.

Can we learn from the Koreans? Their officials are renowned for owning up to their misdeeds and quickly taking responsibility for the mistakes of subordinates as well as for manmade disasters such as collapsing bridges.

They also have a keen sense of shame. In May last year, their former president, Roh Moo-hyun, jumped to his death from a hill near his house as he faced a criminal probe for receiving $6 million in bribes during his presidency.

When we see that kind of contrition from crooks in our government, it will be easier for us to achieve South Korea’s level of economic progress.