27 June 2008, Seoul, South Korea. The Philippine Embassy in Seoul reported to the Department that Philippine Embassy officials, headed by Ambassador Luis T. Cruz, commemorated the 58th Anniversary of the Korean War by laying a wreath at the 15-meter tall Memorial for Philippine Armed Forces in the Korean War in Goyang City, South Korea, on 12 June. The ceremony was also in conjunction with the celebration of the 110th Anniversary of Philippine Independence.

“This war memorial is an enduring testament to the friendship of the Filipino and Korean peoples,” Ambassador Cruz said. Quoting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ambassador Cruz added that “just as the Filipinos helped the Koreans fight the war in the 1950s, the Koreans are now helping the Philippines fight poverty through tourism, trade, investments and job opportunities.” “The Philippines will remain a steadfast ally of South Korea, and will continue to support the quest for peace in the Korean Peninsula,“ he concluded. The Philippine Government sent approximately 7,000 Filipino soldiers, 116 of whom lost their lives, to the Korean peninsula in five Battalion Combat Teams over a five-year period (1950-55) as part of a UN-supported international contingent.