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PH CONCLUDES SUCCESSFUL CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE ASEAN-KOREA CENTRE COUNCIL

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PH Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez (6^th from left), outgoing Chair of the 10^th Annual Council Meeting of the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC), joins AKC Secretary General Kim Young-sun (5^th from left); Mr. Gerard Ho, the current Council Chair and Council Director of Singapore (4th from left); Director General Ryu Jeong-hyun of MOFA's South Asian and Pacific Affairs and ROK's Council Director (6th from right); and other Council Directors of the ASEAN Member States for a group photo. Photo Credit: ASEAN-Korea Centre

SEOUL, 28 February 2017–Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez, Council Director of the Philippines, concluded his successful chairmanship of the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) Council during the 10^th Annual Meeting of the AKC which was held on 26 to 27 February 2018 at the Paradise Hotel in Busan, South Korea.

Amb. Hernandez, before turning over the Chairmanship of the AKC Council to Mr. Gerard Ho, Council Director of Singapore, conveyed his appreciation to the other Council Directors for their hard work and to AKC Secretary General, Amb. Kim Young-sun, for his able leadership. He also congratulated the AKC for successfully implementing the programs for FY2017, all of which were pursued in support of AKC’s vision of building a lasting and genuine partnership between ASEAN and Korea.

In his opening remarks, Amb. Hernandez also outlined the achievements of the AKC during his term as Council Chair. For FY2017, Amb. Hernandez reported that the AKC was able to organize a total of 20 programs, comprised of 47 projects, under the Chapters of Trade and Investment, Culture and Tourism, and Public Relations and Information Services. Some of these projects included the celebration of the Month of ASEAN in May, the ASEAN Culinary Festival in June, the ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop in July, the International Conference on ASEAN-Korea Partnership in August, the ASEAN Trade Fair in October, and the ASEAN Connectivity Forum in November.

All these programs were organized and pursued in accordance with the three main directions the AKC set for FY2017, which included greater focus on Culture and Tourism programs; sustainable development; and strengthening of capacity-building element throughout its programs.

The Council Meeting also discussed and approved the AKC’s Work Programs and Budget for FY2018. Under the collective theme titled “Connecting People, Sharing Prosperity,” the AKC will be organizing projects under four specific focus areas which are: Prosperity and Industry 4.0; Sustainable Development; People-Centered Community-Building; and People-to-People Exchange.

ROK’s Council Director and Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Director General for South Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau Ryu Jeong-hyun also took the opportunity to brief the Council Directors of President Moon Jae-in’s New Southern Policy. According to DG Ryu, the New Southern Policy aims to bring Korea’s partnership with ASEAN to the highest level. In line with this new policy, the AKC is expected to play a more central role in strengthening the partnership between ASEAN and Korea in the coming years.

The Council Directors also expressed its collective appreciation to Sec. Gen. Kim, who will be ending his term in March 2018, for his dedication and leadership in bringing the AKC to another level during his term as the Secretary General of the AKC. Amb. Lee Hyuk, former Ambassador of Korea to the Philippines (2012) and Vietnam (2016), will replace Sec. Gen. Kim.

The AKC Council is the Centre’s highest-decision making body. It is made up of directors appointed by the 10 ASEAN member states (AMS) and Korea. The AKC is a Seoul-based intergovernmental institution established by the AMS and Korea in 2009 in order to increase trade volume, accelerate investment flows, invigorate tourism, and enrich cultural exchanges between ASEAN and Korea.

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Council Directors of the ASEAN Member States and the ROK, together with their respective representatives to the AKC Executive Board, and officials and members of the AKC Secretariat at the 10th Annual Council Meeting of the AKC which was held on 26 to 27 February 2018 at the Paradise Hotel in Busan. Photo Credit: ASEAN-Korea Centre

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PH EMBASSY LAUDS FILIPINO GRADUATES AND ACHIEVERS IN KOREA

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PH Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez (front and center) poses with the officers of Pinoy Iskolars sa Korea, Inc. (PIKO), led by its President Mr. Franz Kevin Geronimo (front, 5^th from left), and the Filipino graduates and achievers at this year’s Hayo at Gilas PIKO.

Seoul, 19 February 2018 – The Embassy of the Philippines in Seoul, in a simple ceremony on 18 February 2018 at the Embassy’s Rizal Hall, gave recognition to Filipino graduates and outstanding students. The semi-annual recognition ceremony, called Hayo at Gilas PIKO, is an initiative of the Embassy and a continuing tradition of the Pinoy Iskolars sa Korea, Inc. (PIKO), in sending off and congratulating young Filipino scholars in Korea.

The ceremony was the 10th recognition ceremony for graduates and the 6th recognition ceremony for achievers of PIKO since its inception in 2012.

In line with its theme “Filipino Scholars: Catalysts of Filipino Pride and Excellence,” Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez highlighted in his opening remarks the significant role these Filipino scholars play in their respective fields of study.

“Through your academic accomplishments as Filipino scholars, you have not just significantly contributed in your respective fields but you have also elevated the status of Filipino scholars and the Philippines in this country. Indeed, you should all be lauded for being an inspiration to your fellow students and for being exemplary representatives of the Philippines in South Korea,” Ambassador Hernandez said.

Ambassador Hernandez also challenged the graduates and awardees to continuously chase after their goals. “Continue to be catalysts of Filipino pride and excellence – pursuing your dreams through a combination of unyielding determination, sacrifice, and hard work. Continue to tackle every arduous challenge with great fortitude. Continue to build your resilience so you will all be outstanding citizens who will work for the betterment of others and of our beloved country,” he said.

The Spring Hayo at Gilas PIKO recognized a total of 30 Filipino graduates (8 PhD, 20 Masters, and 2 Bachelors) and 20 outstanding students who have garnered international awards for their research presentations as well as those whose research papers have been published in international academic journals.

Representing her fellow graduates, Ms. Cherry Fernandez, a PhD graduate in Veterinary Medicine at Gyeongsang National University, presented her doctoral dissertation entitled “Comparative Expression Analysis of Cytokines in Riemerella Anatipestifier Infection in ducks and chickens.”

Mr. Lorenzo Moron, a Master’s graduate in Atmospheric Environment at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and a scholar of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) delivered a message on behalf of his fellow Filipino graduates. Meanwhile, Ms. Monica Dulos, a former Filipino scholar and PIKO member, now a program officer at the ASEAN-Korea Centre in Seoul, was the guest speaker at the event.

There are over 600 Filipino students in exchange, undergraduate, and graduate programs in around 40 universities in Korea.

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PH Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez (center) is joined by Third Secretary and Vice-Consul Ella Karina Mitra and the new

PIKO officers during their courtesy call on him.

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PH EMBASSY IN SEOUL FACILITATES REPATRIATION OF FILIPINO EPS WORKER

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SEOUL, 12 February 2018 – The Philippine Embassy in Seoul successfully facilitated the return of Mr. Vladimir Pediengco, a Filipino overseas worker under the Employment Permit System (EPS), to the Philippines. Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez personally phoned Mr. Pediengco to wish him a safe travel and swift full recovery.

Mr. Pediengco, who met an accident on 28 December 2017, was admitted at the Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province for over a month. He underwent cervical spine column surgery and was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for two weeks.

On 8 February, Mr. Pediengco was assisted by the Embassy’s Welfare Officer, Ms. Manuela Pena and the President of the community organization Filipino Migrant Workers of Kumi (FIMWAK), Mr. Woody Ferrer delas Alas. The wife of Mr. Pediengco, Ms. Lorelyn Montanez-Pediengco, also an OFW from Hong Kong, flew to Korea to escort her husband back to the Philippines.

Mr. Pediengco was met at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by OWWA medical personnel and was transferred on a flight to Bacolod City the following day. Upon arrival in Bacolod, he was assisted by personnel from OWWA-Bacolod and Talisay City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO). He was then brought to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital for a check-up before finally going home.

The Philippine Embassy’s Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Section and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), through Welfare Officer Manuela Pena, were in constant coordination with Mr. Pediengco and his carers all throughout the process. The Embassy also facilitated the arrival to Korea of Mrs. Pediengco.

The medical repatriation, including the endorsement to the local OWWA units, was successfully undertaken by the Embassy through the combined efforts of the POLO and the ATN Section.

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PH ENVOY AND KAMICO CHAIRMAN DISCUSS BOLSTERING PH-KOREA PARTNERSHIP IN THE MECHANIZATION OF THE PH AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

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Seoul, 8 February 2018 - Chairman Kim Shin-Gil of the Korea Agricultural Machinery Cooperative (KAMICO) paid a courtesy call on the Philippine Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez on 8 February 2018 at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul to discuss bolstering Philippine-Korea Partnership in the mechanization of the Philippine agricultural sector and the forthcoming visit of a 180 member contingent comprised of CEOs from KAMICO’s member companies to Cebu and Bohol on 27 June-1 July 2018 for the 2018 CEO Seminar.

During the courtesy call, Ambassador Hernandez welcomed the keen interest of KAMICO to assist the Philippines with the development of its agricultural sector through the sharing of Korea’s agricultural technologies to increase agricultural production and incomes of farmers and rural communities in the Philippines.

Ambassador Hernandez also conveyed the Philippine government’s appreciation for the continuing technical cooperation in agricultural machinery development being extended by KAMICO to the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Center for Postharvest and Machinery Development (DA-PhilMech) pursuant to a joint MOU signed in November 2016.

Further, Ambassador Hernandez commended KAMICO’s member company, LeeHwa Machinery, for pursuing a joint collaborative project with PhilMech for the development of a Corn-Milling Machine customized for the Philippines, pursuant to a joint MOA signed in April 2017. Moreover, Ambassador Hernandez expressed appreciation for the invitation conveyed by Chairman Kim to attend the Seminar and to deliver congratulatory remarks during the event.

Ambassador Hernandez also expressed the Embassy’s full support to the Philippine Agriculture Office (PAO) led by Agricultural Attaché Maria Alilia Maghirang and KAMICO in the organization of the Seminar. He also expressed hope that the Seminar would “pave the way for the Philippines and Korea to bolster agricultural cooperation and to develop collaborative projects that would advance the development of the Philippines’ agricultural sector”.

In response, Chairman Kim conveyed KAMICO’s interest to contribute to the strengthening of agricultural cooperation between the Philippines and Korea through Official Development Assistance in the mechanization of the Philippines’ agricultural sector. He also conveyed optimism that the increased agricultural mechanization would result in enhanced agricultural productivity so that the Philippines would be able to attain food security, raise the incomes of its farmers and bolster its capability to expand agricultural exports overseas.

Chairman Kim further expressed elation at KAMICO’s participation in the Seminar underscoring that the Philippines was selected by KAMICO as a venue for the Seminar in view of the Philippines’ fast-growing economy and attractiveness as a tourism and investment destination. Chairman Kim furthermore conveyed KAMICO’s interest to engage in business matching meetings with relevant Philippine government agencies and business counterparts to be arranged by PAO during the latter part of the Seminar.

In closing, Chairman Kim extended an invitation for the Philippines to send a delegation to the Korea International Exhibition of Machinery, Equipment, Science and Technology for Agriculture (KIEMSTA) to be hosted by the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and KAMICO on 31 October-3 November 2018 at the Cheonan Samgeori park, Cheonan province, Korea.

Ambassador Hernandez expressed appreciation for the invitation and confirmed that PAO would arrange the participation of a delegation in KIEMSTA which is Korea’s largest agricultural equipment exhibition. This year, KIEMSTA will feature the participation of 453 companies from 28 countries, distributors, importers, members of agricultural cooperatives and agricultural specialists.

Since its inception in 1962, KAMICO which is recognized by the Korean government and represents Korean agricultural machinery manufacturers, has played a vital and critical role in the mechanization of Korea’s agricultural sector. The agricultural sector is a major engine of growth for the Korean economy that has contributed to the attainment of food security, prosperity for farming communities and expansion of Korea’s agricultural exports overseas.