22 April 2013 — The Philippine Embassy in Seoul reported to the Department of Foreign Affiars (DFA) that a dozen Filipino professors teaching at various universities and institutions of higher learning in South Korea met on April 21 at the Embassy premises to elect their new chairperson and agree on their mission focus for the year.

Dr. Emely Dicolen-Abagat, a professor at the Social Welfare Department of the Catholic University of Daegu, was chosen to lead the Philippine Resource Persons Group (PRPG) in a meeting attended by Philippine Ambassador to Korea Luis Cruz and Philippine-bom South Korean parliamentarian Jasmine Lee, who has advocated various causes and interests important to Filipinos at the National Assembly.

The PRPG decided to focus this year on extending assistance to children bom of Filipino-Korean unions and publicizing issues of concern to the Filipino community in Korea. There are around 70 such professors around South Korea, teaching in such institutions as Gyeongju, Jeonju, Suwon, Inha (Incheon), Kyung Hee (Seoul), and Woosung (Daegu) universities.

The group also decided to establish a Philippine chapter in Manila, to be led by the outgoing president, Prof. Bangy Dioquino.

Congresswoman Lee, who was voted into the 300-member National Assembly of Korea as a proportional representative, is pushing for standardized benefits for international students in Korean universities as one of her advocacies. Lee is the first non-ethnic Korean and naturalized Korean to become a lawmaker. END