General Secretary and his wife visit Korea: Bringing Vietnam-Korea relations to new heights

General Secretary To Lam visits Amkor Technology Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Korean capital) at Yen Phong II-C Industrial Park, Bac Ninh province. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

At the invitation of President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae Myung and his wife, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, paid a state visit to the Republic of Korea from August 10 to 13, 2025.

The visit takes place in the context of the Vietnam-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership developing well, increasingly deeply and effectively.

The visit is expected to bring the Vietnam-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to a new level, becoming more substantive, effective, comprehensive and long-term in all fields.

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership deepens

Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic relations on December 22, 1992. The relationship between the two countries has a solid foundation based on many similarities in tradition, culture, history, complementary economic structures, especially the friendship and efforts towards the future of the governments and people of the two countries.

Over the past 30 years, the Vietnam-Korea relationship has developed into an exemplary cooperative relationship among the world’s leading. The two sides have maintained good relations through all channels of the party, government, and parliament.

The two countries issued a Joint Statement on the “Comprehensive Partnership of the 21st Century” in August 2001 during President Tran Duc Luong’s visit to Korea. The relationship between the two countries was upgraded to a “Strategic Cooperative Partnership” in October 2009 and, in particular, the milestone of upgrading the relationship to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in December 2022. These developments create a framework for enhancing bilateral cooperation in many areas.

Since the upgrade of relations in December 2022, all levels of sectors, localities, businesses and people have been very active and proactive in expanding exchanges and cooperation. Political trust between the two countries has been increasingly consolidated and strengthened. The two sides have strongly promoted visits, exchanges and contacts between high-ranking leaders of the two countries.

On the Vietnamese side, there have been recent visits to Korea by: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (July 2024); Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (June 2024); Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien (August 2025)...

On the Korean side, there have been recent visits to Vietnam by: Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang Woo (March 2025); Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Song Miryung (March 2025); Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun visited and co-chaired the 14th Meeting of the Vietnam-Korea Joint Committee on Trade, Industry and Energy Cooperation and the 8th Meeting of the Joint Committee for the Implementation of the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (April 2025); Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul paid an official visit and attended the 4th Summit of the Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) in Vietnam (April 2025)...

General Secretary To Lam receives Mr. Park Chang Dal, Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Korea (Hanoi, July 29, 2025). (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

Currently, Vietnam and Korea have many relatively diverse cooperation mechanisms and frameworks, including multi-sectoral cooperation and cooperation in specific professional fields, at many different levels.

The two sides currently maintain exchange channels under the mechanism of "Deputy Ministerial-level Diplomacy-Security-Defense Strategic Dialogue," "Vietnam-Korea Security Dialogue at Deputy Ministerial level" and "Vietnam-Korea Defense Dialogue at Deputy Ministerial level"...

Bilateral cooperation mechanisms and frameworks between the two countries are currently operating smoothly, effectively, flexibly, and effectively addressing emerging issues and practical needs in each specific area of cooperation.

In multilateral forums, Vietnam and Korea have closely cooperated and made positive contributions to international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and regional cooperation mechanisms such as the Mekong-Korea, ASEAN-Korea, ASEAN+3, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit (EAS). In particular, Vietnam has played a leading role in enhancing cooperation between Korea and ASEAN as the coordinator of the Korea-ASEAN dialogue.

Economic, trade and investment cooperation is a pillar in bilateral relations.

Economic and trade cooperation is the main pillar in the bilateral relationship, and also a bright spot in Vietnam's international economic cooperation. After more than 30 years of trade, the two countries have become each other's leading important partners.

For Vietnam, Korea continues to maintain its position as Vietnam's number 1 partner in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI); second in terms of official development assistance (ODA); and third in terms of trade. As for Korea, Vietnam is also Korea's third largest trading partner, after China and the US.

Trade turnover between the two countries has increased from 500 million USD in 1992 to 87 billion USD in 2022; 76.1 billion in 2023; and 81.5 billion USD in 2024. The two countries aim to bring bilateral trade turnover to 150 billion USD by 2030.

Regarding investment, as of May 2025, total direct investment from Korea in Vietnam reached 94 billion USD with 10,203 projects, accounting for 23.5% of the total number of projects and 18.1% of the total registered foreign direct investment capital in Vietnam.

Workers at the Sung Hwa Vina factory (Korean capital) in Hoa Binh Industrial Park (Tay Ninh) check yarn on a sock weaving machine. (Photo: Minh Hung/VNA)

Large Korean high-tech corporations have invested in Vietnam's National Innovation Center (NIC), such as SK providing capital and research programs with Vietnamese enterprises, Samsung establishing the Samsung Innovation Campus research lab... On the other hand, Vietnam currently has 112 investment projects in Korea with a total capital of 37.4 million USD.

Regarding development cooperation (ODA), Korean leaders continue to consider Vietnam as a leading strategic development partner with a commitment to effectively implement development cooperation projects between the two countries with a scale of 200 million USD in the 2024-2027 period; support the implementation of the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology Project Phase 2; promote loans focusing on the fields of strategic transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure and climate change adaptation infrastructure worth 4 billion USD in the 2023-2030 period...

Assessing the prospects for cooperation in the coming time, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that it is time to improve the quality of cooperation through future industries such as AI, high technology, services and digital content.

From the perspective of Korea, Vietnam is a country with full potential to become the center of new growth industries with advantages such as: young and talented human resources; attractive investment environment; effective multi-layered trade network.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Vu Ho said that the current Vietnam-Korea relationship is not just normal economic cooperation but has truly transformed into a strategic resonance model.

For Korea, Vietnam is the gateway to ASEAN, a foothold to penetrate the region and also a friend on many international roads.

South Korea is currently one of Vietnam's leading economic partners: leading in foreign direct investment (FDI) and second in ODA. In the photo: The automated washing machine assembly line of LG Electronics Vietnam Hai Phong Co., Ltd. (100% Korean capital). (Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA)

Besides, Vietnam and Korea are mutually supportive economies in structure; Vietnam is a dynamic economy with young human resources; Korea has advanced technology and development experience.

Therefore, Ambassador Vu Ho believes that in addition to trade and investment, the two countries need to expand exchanges and deepen cooperation in new, key areas. These areas include investment and technology transfer, infrastructure and financial development cooperation, human resource training and innovation, supply chain linkages and global integration, institutions and policies, etc.

The two sides have agreed on joint research cooperation in six areas, including: information technology, biotechnology, climate technology, nanotechnology, digital transformation, and new energy/renewable energy.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, in coordination with the Ministry of Science, ICT and the Ministry of Startups and Small and Medium Enterprises of Korea, has been implementing a number of projects and memorandums of understanding to support Vietnam in assessing the current state of science and technology to have appropriate policies and cooperate in connecting the innovative startup ecosystem between the two countries.

In 2024, the two sides successfully coordinated to organize the Vietnam-Korea Digital Transformation Forum 2024, agreeing to strengthen cooperation in building core infrastructure...

In addition, cultural and people-to-people exchanges are also a solid foundation for deepening relations between the two countries. The two sides will coordinate to implement the Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation for the 2023-2025 period. The two sides regularly coordinate to organize events to promote each country's culture and tourism. Korean cultural, artistic, film, culinary, and fashion programs are very popular in Vietnam; conversely, Vietnamese culture and cuisine are also increasingly popular in Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that with the Korean content industry (K-content) already established in the global market, cultural cooperation between the two countries will not only be about sharing each other's beauty but also creating mutually beneficial opportunities for both Korea and Vietnam.

Regarding people-to-people exchanges, with more than 5 million visits to each other each year, it can be seen that the level of exchanges between the people of the two countries is vibrant, thereby creating a solid foundation of trust and friendship.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that currently, about 100,000 Vietnamese-Korean multicultural families, along with Vietnamese workers, contribute to the economic development of South Korea, forming a solid bridge connecting South Korea and Vietnam, and are reliable "people's diplomats" promoting the development of relations between the two countries.

The first tourists on flight VJ837 took off from South Korea to Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa. This is the first direct flight from South Korea to Khanh Hoa after 2 years of suspension due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (May 20, 2022). (Photo: Phan Sau/VNA)

With that trust, the two countries actively exchanged and expanded many more industries to send Vietnamese workers to Korea; continued to promote research cooperation, teacher and student exchanges between vocational education institutions, and enhanced cooperation between businesses and these institutions. Korea has had many programs to support Vietnam in developing the vocational education system.

In addition to the pillar areas of cooperation, cooperation between the two countries in other areas such as defense, security, etc. has also been strongly promoted. Local cooperation between the two countries has also been strengthened, with about 100 local relations between the two countries currently established.

Opening a new chapter, strengthening the friendly relationship between the two nations

The State visit to South Korea by General Secretary To Lam and his wife along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation from August 10 to 13 is an event of special significance.

Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Vu Ho said that General Secretary To Lam is the first state guest to visit South Korea after President Lee Jae Myung took office in June 2025.

This visit is a clear demonstration of the maturity of the Vietnam-Korea relationship, which has been nurtured by the leaders of the two countries for more than three decades. The exchanges and commitments during this visit, in addition to the numbers, are also commitments to the sustainable development of the Vietnam-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Vu Ho, General Secretary To Lam's visit to Korea takes place in the context that the world and the region in general, and Vietnam and Korea in particular, are entering a new stage of development. This is the right time for leaders of both sides to jointly convey the message of determination to cooperate closely and comprehensively for peace, stability, and sustainable development of the region as well as the world.

Delegates visit the photo exhibition “30 years of Vietnam-Korea cooperation” organized by Vietnam News Agency in collaboration with YONHAP News Agency (Korea), on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (Photo: Hoang Hieu/VNA)

According to Ambassador Vu Ho, the State visit of General Secretary To Lam and his wife along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation this time will be a new driving force, suggesting long-term and effective solutions for the flow of relations to develop strongly in the new period.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that through the visit, South Korea hopes to expand the scope of cooperation between the two countries to strategic and future-oriented fields.

President Lee Jae Myung stated that under the leadership of General Secretary To Lam, Vietnam is pursuing the national vision of "becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030" and "becoming a high-income country by 2045," and in this development process, Korea will be a reliable partner accompanying Vietnam.

Sectors such as nuclear power, high-speed rail and infrastructure, as well as advanced science and technology industries will play a key role in realizing Vietnam's national vision.

In addition, President Lee Jae Myung said that Korea and Vietnam also have in common the fact that they will jointly host the APEC Summit in 2025 and 2027. Therefore, the two countries will continue to share experiences and actively cooperate not only within the framework of APEC but also in many other multilateral forums.

The President of South Korea assessed that beyond the framework of economic cooperation, the two countries are also comprehensive partners looking towards the future in the international arena./.