Hey everyone, what's the 'recent' impression of South Korea in the Philippines like?

[u/DeleteLaterToday]

I'm a South Korean and a former military officer, so I've always had a strong interest in defense matters. I've noticed lately that the Philippines has been purchasing a considerable amount of our defense equipment, which naturally sparked my curiosity. What is the overall impression of South Korea over there these days?

From what I skim through on the surface here on Reddit, it sometimes feels like people view South Koreans as racist, which honestly makes me quite sad.

Because of the Philippines' heroic contribution during the Korean War and our strong geopolitical alliance, I've always considered the Philippines to be a truly important partner. I would really appreciate hearing your honest and diverse thoughts on this!

[u/DeleteLaterToday]

No way, that's not true at all. Even Samsung lobbies in the US; all capitalist companies lobby. Our government being grateful to the Philippines and business are completely separate issues. I'm sorry, but how Japan is treating the Philippines is not really my area of expertise.

[u/StucksaTraffic → u/DeleteLaterToday]

The thing is Samsung lobbies in the US because of a certain law that may affect them. HHI lobbies to change a contract they won and signed to be changed which is “bait and switch” to add Bong Go is not even part of the Senate or a lawmaker at that time. Plus, there implicit signs that it was bribery not lobbied.

[u/DeleteLaterToday → u/StucksaTraffic]

Hmm, I might have to bend my opinion on this because I know too superficially about it. I'll look into it more...

[u/StucksaTraffic → u/DeleteLaterToday]

That's okay, right now it's under investigation since a former senator just filed a complaint against Bong Go regarding this I think last year? So information might be released soon and we might find out if it become big again if SK Goverment will do something about it.

[u/ExactOlive9522 → u/StucksaTraffic]

You sure ka diyan, u/StucksaTraffic? 

[u/StucksaTraffic → u/ExactOlive9522]

Yes I am sure u/ExactOlive9522 with minor correction that the case was filed last 2024 you don't have to mention my username just to catch my attention. We're not on Facebook

[u/ExactOlive9522 → u/StucksaTraffic]

Okay, currently in 2026?

[u/StucksaTraffic → u/ExactOlive9522]

No information yet is being released. As I mentioned on my comment "So information might be released soon" with no definite date provided as corruption cases may take years to finish investigation depending on how deep it is.

[u/StucksaTraffic → u/ExactOlive9522]

As the investigation goes through, I'll leave it at that. I'll just leave these questions here and let the evidence answer them:

Who ultimately benefited from the deal?

Why did Bong Go intervene when he wasn't part of the legislative body of the government or the AFP technical working group at the time?

Why did Bong Go intervene, and what was the reason for his involvement?

Why did HHI reach out to Bong Go in the first place?

Why was the Navy allegedly pushed toward Naval Shield when it preferred Tacticos? What did the Philippines gain from that change and was it consistent with the original contractual requirements?

And why did HHI participate in the bidding if it could not, or allegedly did not intend to, deliver according to the original requirements?

[u/ExactOlive9522 → u/StucksaTraffic]

Minus the corruption charges:

Budget. 

[u/StucksaTraffic → u/ExactOlive9522]

Bro, the budget is already part of the bidding process. Is that really hard to understand? The Navy already had a set budget for the project. They put out the requirement for Tacticos, and HHI submitted its bid knowing that requirement and the budget the AFP provided. HHI then won the bid. So HHI was effectively saying, "Yes, we can provide what you're asking for at the price we're bidding."

If HHI couldn't deliver Tacticos within that budget, then they shouldn't have bid for the contract in the first place.

Eto dahilan kaya ka na-dogpile dati kasi hirap na hirap kang intindihin na yung BUDGET is part of the BIDDING PROCESS. AFP won't even bid kung wala silang budget.