Marcos and South Korea's Lee Sign Big Deals — From Nuclear Power to Shipbuilding
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung sat down at the Philippines-Korea Business Forum on Wednesday, March 4, and watched as Philippine and Korean firms inked at least 10 major business agreements spanning shipbuilding, nuclear energy, aerospace, critical minerals, supply chain and retail, and health and wellness.
One of the biggest deals? A memorandum of understanding between Korea Export-Import Bank (KEXIM), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), and Meralco for Korean-backed nuclear power development in the Philippines. Under the deal, KEXIM will provide financial support for nuclear projects involving Korean firms while KHNP supplies the technology. It's a clear signal that the Marcos administration is serious about nuclear as a long-term energy play.
"The business agreements signed earlier today demonstrate our enthusiasm for our private sector to deepen our strong economic relations," Marcos told the Korean business leaders. "Your investment in the Philippines reflects a strategic and forward-looking decision." He added that all the deals would ripple into projects, investments, and livelihood opportunities for both countries.
To sweeten the pot for Korean investors, Marcos highlighted a lineup of economic reforms — the CREATE MORE Act, the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act, the Amended Foreign Investments Act, and the Amended Retail Trade Liberalization Act. Together, these are meant to modernize the investment process, make rules more predictable, and bring down the cost of doing business here.
The forum was one of Lee's last events during his state visit, which also produced trade and defense agreements between the two countries. Para sa mga Pinoy, the nuclear energy deal with Meralco could be the most consequential — potentially reshaping the country's power mix in the years to come.
Source: Philstar
