25 November 2014 – A South Korean state-led consortium supplying new jet fighters to the Philippines signed an agreement for a civil goodwill diplomacy program with the Philippine Embassy in Seoul at its headquarters in Sacheon on South Korea’s southern coast on November 15.
Mr. Ha Sung-Yong, President and CEO of the Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KAI), Philippine Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez, and Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea) President Dr. Park Young Bum signed a Memorandum of Understanding inviting qualified Filipino workers to tour the aerospace manufacturing facilities.
The MOU, which represents the first collaborative partnership of the three entities, aims to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges for Filipino workers under the Employment Permit System (EPS) through the conduct of a Global Camp, consisting of tours of the KAI facilities and lectures by HRD Korea and the Embassy.
“We prepared the KAI Global Camp with a wish to further boost the ties between Korea and the Philippines,” said President Ha after the signing ceremony, adding that the camp was organized “to provide the foreign workers the opportunity to experience Korea’s high tech aviation industry and Korean culture to enhance their motivation.”
In congratulatory remarks, Philippine Ambassador Hernandez thanked KAI and HRD Korea. “KAI’s sense of responsibility and community involvement through the civil goodwill diplomacy program will surely complement HRD Korea’s sojourn support program,” augmented by the Embassy’s labor education and reintegration preparedness program.
HRD Korea President Dr. Park expressed appreciation for “the Filipino workers’ devotion to their work and their contribution to the SMEs in Korea,” recalling that the Philippines was the first country to sign an EPS agreement with Korea.
After the ceremony, KAI invited 40 Filipino EPS workers from neighboring Changwon, Gimhae and Busan for its inaugural Global Camp held from November 15 to 16 at the KAI Aviation Center.
The Philippines has purchased from KAI 12 units of the FA-50 advanced multirole light fighter jets as part of the Philippine Air Force’s modernization program.
Philippine Embassy Labor Attaché Felicitas Q. Bay gave a special lecture before the participants were given a tour of KAI’s final assembly and production plant, the Aerospace Science Museum and the German Village in nearby Namhae.
Mr. Noel Cardiente, an EPS worker at Kwangjin Engineering in Busan, thanked KAI management, the Philippine Embassy and HRD Korea for the invitation to the KAI Global Camp and the MOU, which Ambassador Hernandez described as a good example of “shared service delivery.” END