Korean provincial officials visit Capitol, push closer ties

The kidnapping of a Korean national by fellow Koreans in Cebu City last month won’t affect tourist arrivals in Cebu province, an association of Korean nationals said yesterday.

In fact, Cebu Korean Association Inc. Vice President Charlie Shin said, they were expecting closer economic and diplomatic ties between South Korea and Cebu with the establishment of sisterhood ties last week.

Shin, who proposed for the creation of a consulate in Cebu, said Gyeonggi, the largest province in South Korea, is eyeing another sisterhood province ties with Cebu.

Officials led by council man Lee Jai Cheon visited Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia last week.

Gyeonggi province is credited with being one of South Korea’s growth engine, due to the presence of industries like electronics, heavy machinery, steel and chemical factories as well as textiles, farm, livestock and fisheries.

The release of the kidnap victim, Kwon Young Hoon, after a two-day detention in a safe house in Lapu-Lapu City, also won’t scare off South Koreans from visiting Cebu province anytime soon, Shin said.

Two of Kwon’s captors, Kim Jong Seok and Choi Se Yong, face charges before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

The two were already wanted for several crimes back in their native South Korea, Shin said.

Kim, who is married to a Filipina, remains in hiding in the country while Choi reportedly left for Malaysia.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) said they are coordinating with other law enforcement agencies in locating the suspects.

Although his captors are still at large, Shin said Kwon told him that he intends to return to Cebu.

He said most Koreans still consider Cebu as “the best destination” in the country.

“Actually many Korean travel companies asked me how safe Cebu is, then, I tell them Cebu is the best in the Philippines,” he said.

About 25,000 Korean tourists come to Cebu a month with an average number of 1,000 per day, making them the biggest market in Cebu.

Of the 15,000 living in Cebu, about 200 to 300 South Koreans are married to Cebuanas, Shin said.

The Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) reported that most international flights came by way of South Korea with Incheon Metropolitan City having 37 flights a week.

A Korean airline company, also in May, opened a regular flight to Busan City.

From being a chartered flight before, Air Busan now has a Busan to Cebu regular route, four times a week.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) said South Korea is the country’s largest foreign tourist market with 740,622 visitors.

The figure is 21 percent of the record 3.52 million foreign visitors that dropped by the country last year.

A total of 429,569 Korean visitors visited the country from January to June this year, registering a 28.76 percent growth over the same period last year. /Carmel Loise Matus, Correspondent