THE PHILIPPINES and South Korea signed 10 memoranda of agreement on Tuesday covering trade, defense, education and technology, because the two countries marked the 77th anniversary of diplomatic relations with a renewed commitment to deepen cooperation.
At a joint press conference in presidential palace in Manila, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said he and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed to expand trade and investment under the Philippines-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA) and pursue initiatives in digitalization and innovation.
Mr. Lee’s two-day state visit, his first to Manila as President, followed a gathering with Mr. Marcos on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in October 2025.
“We’ve concluded a lot of agreements within the fields of defense material procurement, veterans affairs, agriculture, trade, investment and economic cooperation, mental property, digital cooperation, digitalization and innovation, Korean language training in schools, cultural cooperation and police cooperation,” Mr. Marcos said.
Mr. Lee said discussions included further expanding the FTA, noting that Korean investments within the Philippines have risen greater than fivefold for the reason that agreement took effect. He cited regular growth in bilateral trade and investment flows between the 2 countries.
Among the many deals signed was a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT to expand cooperation in emerging technologies.
The Department of Economy, Planning and Development also signed an agreement with Seoul’s Foreign Ministry covering technology, digitalization and innovation programs.
In defense, the Department of National Defense and South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration amended an existing arrangement on the procurement of certain defense materials. A separate agreement covered cooperation on patriots and veterans affairs.
Economic ties were strengthened through agreements between the Department of Trade and Industry and its South Korean counterparts on trade, investment and mental property protection.
The Department of Agriculture also signed a pact with Seoul’s Agriculture Ministry to boost farm-sector cooperation.
The 2 sides likewise agreed to expand people-to-people exchanges, including Korean language training in Philippine schools, cultural cooperation initiatives and a police cooperation agreement between their national police agencies. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana