01 April 2015 - Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez was paid a courtesy call by Ambassador Kim Young-sun, the new Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul on March 23.

Ambassador Kim Young-sun, a recently retired career diplomat, started his three-year term as the third Secretary General for AKC last March 13. Ambassador Hernandez congratulated the new AKC Secretary General on his appointment and stated that he was “confident that the relationship between Korea and ASEAN will be strengthened and broadened in [Ambassador Kim Young-sun]’s incumbency as head of the ASEAN-Korea Centre.”

The AKC Secretary General told Ambassador Hernandez that the “relations between Korea and the ASEAN member counties are getting bigger and bigger” and that his role is "to represent the collective interests of the ASEAN member countries to the Republic of Korea and pursue our common goals.”  

At his inauguration earlier this month, Ambassador Kim said that his assumption of AKC leadership was “a great honor” in view of the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community by the end of this year. “Building on the Centre’s laudable achievements during the last six years, I will do my best to further the Centre’s efforts in advancing ASEAN-Korea relations to a higher level.”

“With ASEAN having become a core cooperation partner, I will place emphasis on promoting work programs to raise awareness of ASEAN among the public and on propelling creative work programs that enable shared growth and co-prosperity for the two regions,” he added.

Secretary General Kim announced that he will accompany a delegation of Korean buyers to the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) in the Philippines. 

Established in Seoul on March 2009, the ASEAN-Korea Center’s mandate is to increase trade volume, accelerate investment flow, invigorate tourism and enrich cultural and people-to-people exchange between Korea and ASEAN. END