World leaders continue to convey their congratulatory messages to President-elect Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino following his proclamation last Wednesday, with the latest felicitations coming from Republic of Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak.

In a statement, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak congratulated Aquino for his proclamation as the 15th President of the Philippines, citing the Philippines’ role in South Korea’s ties with the Southeast Asia region.

“The Republic of Korea and the Republic of the Philippines, which was the first ASEAN member state to establish diplomatic relations with Korea and fought alongside Korea in the Korean War, share democracy and market economy, and have seen their relations steadily progress in economy and trade, people-to-people and cultural exchange, and various other fields since the forging of diplomatic ties,” Lee said.

“The Government of the Republic of Korea hopes to further develop the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two countries along with the new Philippine government, scheduled to inaugurate on June 30,” he added.

Bilateral relations between the Philippines and South Korea began way back on March 3, 1949, which was further enhanced by the Philippines’ deployment of the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK) during the Korean War in the 1950s to help South Korea in its defense against the invasion of North Korea.

South Korea is among the Philippines’ largest trading partners and a major source of tourist arrivals.

The Philippines had been among the many countries which condemned the sinking of South Korean navy ship Cheonan by a surprise torpedo attack done by North Korea, which killed 46 South Korean sailors on March 26.

Lee is the latest world leader to send a congratulatory message to Aquino. US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Canadian Prime Stephen Harper, and French President  Nicolas Sarkozy had all sent their congratulatory messages to President-elect Aquino and Vice-President Elect Jejomar Binay following their proclamation on June 9.

Members of the diplomatic corps had likewise conveyed their congratulatory messages to Aquino and Binay, including US Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr., Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura, Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao, and British Ambassador Stephen Lillie.