“We hope that in the near future we could have a visa-free passage between Korea and the Philippines but so far, there are certain numbers of illegal Filipinos in Korea that’s why… if we’ve decreased our illegal people naturally, we can have a free-visa policy”. said the Korean Ambassador Mr. Han Dong Man in a press conference.
This November 25-26, 2019, there will be a Summit which is the 2019 Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea (ASEAN-ROK) Commemorative Summit. Philippine Ambassador Mr. Noe Albano said that the Philippine government might raise the topic about this visa-free entry of Filipinos to South Korea.
According to the Philippine Ambassador, it is due to there is a lot of complaint about the length of time getting a visa to South Korea. As per Mr. Albano, he doesn’t know if the term is right but there is just an inequality. Filipinos need a visa to enter South Korea but Koreans do not need one when staying in the Philippines for 30 days or less. and he added that currently, there a 93,000 Koreans living in the Philippines while 5,000 Filipinos in South Korea.
The Korean Ambassador, Mr. Han Dong Man said that the idea is possible but they are also want to naturally decrease the illegal stay of Filipinos in Korea and if it will be solved, then they may consider a free-visa entry for Filipinos.