Palace congratulates newly elected South Korea president

May 10, 2017

Malacanang congratulated on Wednesday Moon Jae-in for his election as president of South Korea. "On behalf of the Filipino nation, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte wishes to extend his warm congratulations to Mr. Moon Jae-in on his election as the new President of the Republic of Korea (ROK)," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement. He said the Duterte administration is committed to further enhancing relations with South Korea under Moon. Abella cited the "strong, comprehensive and long-standing bilateral ties" of the two countries. "Our two countries have extensive cooperation on political, economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges in the bilateral, regional, and multilateral spheres," he added. The Philippines apologized to South Korea a few months ago over the kidnapping and killing of a businessman allegedly done in the headquarters of the Philippine National Police. Moon, 64, won the elections after his predecessor, Park Geun-hye, was ousted from office due to corruption allegations. He favors dialogue with North Korea, which has been causing tensions in the Korean Peninsula due to its ballistic missile tests. (Celerina Monte/DMS)