In a bilateral meeting at Malacañang Palace, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung witnessed the signing of at least 10 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) aimed at strengthening cooperation in digitalization, agriculture, trade and investment, defense, education, culture, and law enforcement.
Among the agreements signed were:
- DICT and Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT on digital cooperation.
- Department of Economy, Planning, and Development and Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Technology, Digitalization, and Innovation Program.
- DND and Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration on defense materials procurement.
- DND and Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to bolster cooperation in veterans affairs.
- PNP and Korea National Police Agency to enhance police cooperation.
- DA and Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs to boost agricultural collaboration.
- DTI and Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Resources on trade, investment, and economic cooperation.
- DTI and Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property to reinforce cooperation in intellectual property.
- DepEd and Korea’s Ministry of Education on Korean language training in Philippine schools.
- NCCA and Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on cultural cooperation.
Following the signing, Marcos underscored the significance of the agreements in advancing bilateral ties.
“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,” the President said.
Marcos expressed gratitude to President Lee and his delegation for what he described as a productive and fruitful visit, noting that the agreements mark meaningful progress in expanding cooperation across multiple sectors.