MANILA – South Korean President Moon Jae-In sees a community-connected future between South Korea and Southeast Asian nations as a blueprint for major prosperity for both his country and ASEAN.
In his opening remarks during the 19th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit on Monday, Moon sought to introduce to leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) South Korea’s initiatives to bring the bilateral cooperation between the two regions to a higher level.
“This initiative is saying that the peace-loving, people-centered community where all members are better off together,” he said in Korean.
“Such community will bring together the vision of ASEAN community and Korean government’s political philosophy to achieve common prosperity through collaborations,” he added.
Meanwhile, in his opening remarks, Duterte noted the “robust ties” of ASEAN with South Korea in the field of investment, tourism, and socio-cultural cooperation.
Moon was elected president of South Korea last May after his predecessor Park Guen-hye was impeached.
Ten days after his election, he named Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as his special envoy to the ASEAN.
The 19th ASEAN- Republic of Korea Summit is among the side meetings in the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits which the Philippines is hosting this week, coinciding with the regional bloc’s 50th founding anniversary.
South Korea is one of nine dialogue-partner countries of ASEAN that are participating in this week’s events.
