SEOUL, 15 July 2014 – Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez met with senior executives of one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, the Lotte Group, led by Mr. Yong-dok Song, President and CEO of the Lotte Hotels & Resorts, Inc. on 15 July 2014 in Seoul’s business district.

“With the Philippine economy expanding and the number of tourists increasing, we would very much like to see Lotte expand its presence in the Philippines,” Ambassador Hernandez told President Song at the company’s flagship hotel, the biggest in Korea at 1,100 rooms, located in the Myeongdong district. The meeting was part of Ambassador Hernandez's opening salvo to get to know various Korean business leaders. This engagement is designed to boost the Philippine government's efforts in attracting Korean investments into the country's infrastructure, manufacturing, tourism, power, banking, electronics and agriculture sectors. He was joined by First Secretary and Consul Roderico C. Atienza and Commercial Counselor Nicanor S. Bautista. The Lotte Group consists of over 60 business units employing 60,000 people engaged in such diverse industries as confectionary, beverages, hotels, fast food, retail, financial services, heavy chemicals, electronics, IT, construction, publishing, and entertainment. Lotte's major operations are overseen from twin headquarters in Tokyo and Seoul, with additional businesses in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, USA, Russia, Philippines, Pakistan and Poland. The Lotte Group posted consolidated revenues of US$72 billion in 2012. The group’s holding company is Lotte Hotels and Resorts, Inc., which is Korea's largest chain of luxury hotels. It has locations in Seoul – in Myeongdong and Lotte World in Jamsil – as well as in Ulsan, Jeju and Busan. The Philippine government, through the Department of Trade and Industry, and in cooperation with private groups in the country, has previously invited the Lotte Group to invest in multi-modal tourism complexes. Lotte has affirmed its plan to expand its presence in the Philippines, which includes a controlling stake by Lotte Chilsung in Pepsi Cola Philippines Inc., and trading activities by the group's food subsidiary, Lotte Confectionery Pilipinas Corp. Lotte Hotels is currently exploring putting up a business hotel either in Manila or in Cebu.