President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) in September 2023 shakes hands with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at their bilateral summit held at a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Kim Yong Wii from Office of the President)

By Park Hye Ri

President Yoon Suk Yeol on March 3 exchanged congratulatory letters with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to mark the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

In the letter, President Yoon thanked President Marcos and the Philippine people, saying, "Korea and the Philippines have a solid and deep-rooted history of fighting together for freedom and democracy."

"This will provide further opportunities to advance bilateral relations that have developed for the past 75 years in all areas including trade, people-to-people exchanges and development cooperation," President Yoon added. "We hope that the Korea-Philippines free trade agreement, an important milestone in bilateral economic cooperation, takes effect within this year to boost trade and investment between the two countries in a groundbreaking manner."

President Marcos described bilateral ties as growing by leaps and bounds since their inception in 1949, saying he hoped that such relations, which began with solidarity in the fight for freedom and democracy during the Korean War and developed in a range of fields, will continue advancing in a future-oriented manner.

He added that he hopes that both free trade partners pursue forming a strategic partnership to pave the way for future-oriented collaboration covering the digital, science and technology, maritime, climate change and energy sectors.

In another event to mark the 75th anniversary of relations, the Republic of Korea Air Force's aerobatics flight team Black Eagles held an air show in the Philippines and a "friendship flight" with the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

At the three-day event, eight T-50B jets of the Black Eagles and four FA-50PHs of PAF developed by Korea Aerospace Industries flew side by side over Clark International Airport in the province of Pampanga.

hrhr@korea.kr