To Lam seeks to advance ties with South Korea in new development era
VGP – General Secretary To Lam's ongoing four-day State visit to South Korea aims to further advance relations with the Northeast Asian country in the new era of development.
General Secretary To Lam and his Spouse arrive in Seoul on Sunday, starting their four-day State visit to South Korea
Viet Nam stands ready to work with South Korea to promote the exchange of high-level delegations and cooperation in such key domains like diplomacy, defense and security, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.
Viet Nam also expects to bolster substantive cooperation in the fields of South Korea's strengths such as infrastructure development, high technology, semiconductor, artificial intelligence, and smart urban development, said Bui.
The Southeast Asian nation wishes to turn science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and high-quality workforce training into a new pillar of bilateral ties, he added.
Viet Nam and South Korea set up diplomatic relations in 1992. Over the past more than three decades, the Viet Nam-South Korea relationship has become a model in international relations as bilateral cooperation achieved encouraging results across all fields, thus contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
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./.
