S. Korea-Colombia summit seeks to strengthen and diversify bilateral ties

S. Korea-Colombia summit seeks to strengthen and diversify bilateral ties. April. 20, 2015 07:13. egija@donga.com.

“Our friendship will maintain and grow deeper at all times, and future generations of the two nations will remember this.”

The audience burst into a loud round of applause when South Korean President Park Geun-hye emphasized friendship between South Korea and Colombia at a hotel in Bogota, Colombia’s capital, on Saturday afternoon (local time). Colombian veterans of the Korean War and their descendants attended the ceremony. Colombia was the only nation in Latin America that dispatched combat military forces to the Korean War. Out of the 5,100 dispatched soldiers, 213 died and 476 were wounded or held captives.

On the same day, President Park met Francisco M. Caicedo, a colonel in the reserve who fought for South Korea during the war, again in 40 years. Caicedo visited the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in 1975 at the invitation from then-President Park Chung-hee. Back then, President Park was there as a stand-in first lady on behalf of her late mother. Caicedo gave a picture of him taken with then-President Park and his book containing daily records during the war to President Park as a gift. Colombian Navy Commander Adm. Hernando Wills Velez, whose father was the Korean War veteran, also attended the ceremony.

During the official dinner held at the presidential palace in Bogota on Friday, President Park said in Spanish, “To forget is difficult for one who has heart,” quoting Colombia’s great writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. “Brave young soldiers of Colombia fought fiercely to protect freedom and democracy in South Korea. South Koreans remember and cherish their precious sacrifices deep down in their hearts,” said President Park.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos praised South Korean public education system. President Santos said, “It is my dream to make Colombian education system resemble South Korea’s. I want to kindly ask Korea to send 15 education experts for three months.”

During the visit to Latin American countries, one-to-one business meeting is being held at each nation. This is the second time following the business talks held at the Middle East last month. In Colombia, 44 South Korean companies had business talks with 106 local businesses. Through this meeting, 16 business contracts worth 100 million U.S. dollars were concluded, while a 50-million dollar contract between KT and Medellin City was signed for an intellectual transportation system.

On Monday, President Park plans to hold a summit with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala Tasso at the presidential palace in Lima, the capital of the second destination during her tour to South American countries. Keen attentions are paid to whether the two nations will sign a contract to export home-grown light attack fighter jets including FA-50 to Peru. If the FA-50 export contract is concluded, the South Korean military expects the export amount to reach 2 billion dollars, following the deal of 24 light-attack aircrafts, pilot training package and follow-up supports.