Korean President comes to Vietnam

The visit of Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his wife took place on April 21-24, at the invitation of General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife. This is the first time President Lee Jae Myung comes to Vietnam after he took office in June 2025.

Welcoming the delegation at Noi Bai International Airport were Chairman of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Dai Thang, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Vu Ho, according to VNA.

Accompanying President Lee Jae Myung and his wife were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science, Information Technology and Communications of Korea Bae Kyung Hoon; Foreign Minister Cho Hyun; Minister of Industry, Trade and Natural Resources Kim Jung Kwan; Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun Duk and other officials.

The visit was made after Vietnam had just consolidated its senior leadership following the 14th Party Congress. According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Vu Ho, the fact that President Lee Jae Myung became the first national guest to visit Vietnam during this period has important political and symbolic meaning, demonstrating Korea’s high regard for Vietnam, while also reflecting the level of trust and strategic priority in bilateral relations.

The Ambassador said that during this visit, the two countries will focus on three major priorities: upgrading economic cooperation, deeper links in strategic supply chains and close connections between investment – innovation – human resource training.

Science and technology cooperation will become a central driving force, with a focus on joint research and development, technology transfer and mastery in fields such as AI, semiconductors, energy and smart infrastructure.

Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic relations on December 22, 1992. In December 2022, the two countries established a comprehensive strategic partnership framework.

In 2025, bilateral trade turnover reaches 89.5 billion USD, an increase of 9.6% compared to 2024. In the first 3 months of the year, the total import-export turnover of Vietnam – Korea reached 26.9 billion USD, an increase of 30% over the same period in 2025.

Accumulated until the end of March 2026, Korea continues to be Vietnam’s largest investor with 10,447 projects, total registered capital reaching 98.9 billion USD, focusing on fields such as manufacturing and processing industry, high technology, electronics, cars and auto parts, construction, and real estate.

In 2025, Korea will be Vietnam’s second largest tourist supply market with 4.3 million arrivals, accounting for 21% of the total number of foreign visitors to Vietnam.

There are about 352,000 Vietnamese people in Korea and 200,000 Koreans living and doing business in Vietnam.