Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam (R) shakes hands with South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young Sam during their meeting in Hanoi, June 5, 2025. Photo: Vietnam News Agency
Lam extended congratulations to South Korea’s newly elected President Lee Jae Myung and expressed hope for closer collaboration with the new administration.
He praised the steady progress in bilateral ties and urged South Korean businesses to boost their investment in Vietnam, particularly in technology transfer, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and energy development.
The Party leader proposed accelerating the implementation of the two countries’ joint action plan to reach US$150 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.
In 2024, trade between the two nations hit $86.7 billion, a 9.2-percent increase over the previous year, with Vietnam ranking as South Korea’s third-largest trading partner for the third year in a row.
South Korea remains the top foreign investor in Vietnam, with over $92 billion in registered capital as of January, according to the Vietnamese government portal.
Lam also called for stronger cooperation in culture, tourism, education, and subnational exchanges, as well as mutual support at regional and international forums, including the upcoming APEC Summits in South Korea (2025) and Vietnam (2027).
Ambassador Choi expressed appreciation for the early congratulations from Vietnamese leaders and reaffirmed that the new South Korean administration sees Vietnam as a central partner in its regional strategy.
Choi also emphasized the importance of maintaining close cooperation amid growing global uncertainties and reaffirmed South Korea’s interest in deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership across political, economic, cultural, educational, and scientific domains.
Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992 before upgrading their ties to a strategic partnership in 2009 and to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022.
