General Secretary To Lam embarks on four-day State visit to South Korea

To is accompanied by Politburo member, Chairman of the Central Inspection Commission Nguyen Duy Ngoc; Politboro member, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang; Politburo member, Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang; Politburo member, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen; Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Office of the Party Central Committee Le Hoai Trung; Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son; Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan; Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra; Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien; Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung; Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung.

This is To's first visit to South Korea in his capacity as the General Secretary. During the visit, both sides are expected to conduct strategic exchanges and chart major orientations and measures to further advance the relations between Viet Nam and South Korea in a substantive, comprehensive and effective fashion, thus bringing practical benefits to the two countries' peoples and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

The visit reflects Viet Nam's consistent pursuance of the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of external relations, active international integration.

As of May 2025, South Korea was the largest investor in Viet Nam, with a total registered capital reaching US$94 billion across 10,203 projects, accounting for 18.1 percent of total registered foreign direct investment in the country.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam has invested in 112 projects in South Korea, with a total capital of US$37.4 million.

Bilateral trade turnover reached US$81.5 billion last year, a 7.3 percent increase compared to 2023.

South Korea also ranked second in terms of development cooperation, with a commitment of US$4 billion in aid by 2030.

The two countries have maintained Ministerial-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology. In October 2023, both sides agreed to launch joint research cooperation starting in 2025 in six fields including information technology, biotechnology, climate technology, nanotechnology, digital transformation, and new and renewable energy.

The two countries are working to carry out the second phase of the Viet Nam–Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) project. Major high-tech Korean corporations are investing in the Viet Nam National Innovation Center.

South Korea remains one of Viet Nam's largest tourist source market. In 2024, 4.6 million South Koreans travelled to Viet Nam. In the first five months of this year, the figure reached 1.9 million, ranking second among foreign tourist markets to the Southeast Asian nation.

A total number of 100 local-level partnerships have been established between the two nations.

The total value of South Korea's non-governmental aid to Viet Nam during the 2023–2024 period reached approximately US$29.4 million, mainly focused on economic and social development, education, training, and addressing social issues.

In 2024, there were approximately 320,000 Vietnamese people living and working in South Korea—an increase of 50,000 compared to 2023./.