Lee, on a state visit to Vietnam after traveling to India, made the remarks during a summit on April 22 (local time) with To Lam, the Communist Party’s general secretary and Vietnam’s state president. Lee said South Korea is “the best partner” for Vietnam’s vision of becoming a high-income advanced country by 2045.
Vietnam is South Korea’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States. The two countries are each other’s top-three trading partners, and South Korea is Vietnam’s largest investor.
Bilateral trade totaled $94.6 billion last year, a record high. South Korean investment in Vietnam through last year reached $56.8 billion, and about 10,000 South Korean companies operate there. South Korea’s key exports, including semiconductors and home appliances, are produced through a division of labor in which parts and materials are shipped from South Korea and finished goods are made in Vietnam.
Lee said the summit would help deepen strategic economic cooperation and strengthen communication on an economic and security partnership, including energy, supply-chain stability and cooperation on critical minerals.
The two sides exchanged 12 memorandums of understanding and cooperation documents spanning security and protection, digital, science and technology innovation, intellectual property, power infrastructure, water security, animal health and quarantine, culture, underwater cultural heritage, safety of food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices, nuclear power development, and financing cooperation for nuclear projects.
According to a written briefing by presidential spokesperson Lee Kyu-yeon, the countries signed an MOU on safety cooperation for food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices. They also concluded quarantine talks on heat-treated poultry, which the briefing said would help expand access to Vietnam’s $4.3 billion imported pharmaceuticals market and its $11 billion meat market.
They also signed an MOU to review cooperation possibilities in nuclear power development, including exploring options for new nuclear plants, jointly analyzing construction risks and supporting plans to optimize construction schedules.
Lee said progress was also made on major national infrastructure projects expected to play a central role in Vietnam’s development, including the Dongnam new city and the new Tra Vinh airport.
He added that “a contract is expected to be signed” for South Korea to export rail cars for Ho Chi Minh City’s urban rail system, saying he hoped the deal would contribute to improving Vietnam’s rail infrastructure.
The leaders also agreed to build a mutually beneficial partnership to strengthen energy security and stabilize supply chains for critical minerals amid global uncertainty.
Through a framework for a South Korea-Vietnam science and technology innovation cooperation master plan, the two sides will present a mid- to long-term vision for cooperation and expand support for training Vietnam’s future talent, including efforts aimed at easing labor shortages faced by South Korean companies operating there.
In health care, the South Korean government plans to expand cooperation to strengthen Vietnam’s health capacity and improve access to medical services. It also plans to 추진 a “Central Region Emergency Medical System Strengthening Project” to significantly improve emergency care in Vietnam’s central region, described as medically underserved and frequently visited by South Koreans.
The government also said it would support expanded cooperation in cultural industries and broader Korean-language education in Vietnam. During the visit, it plans to hold the “2026 Korea Culture and Tourism Expo,” linking Korean pop culture content with tourism promotion, and to support a “5 million mutual visits era” by boosting people-to-people exchanges, including tourism.
Lee said South Korea and Vietnam upgraded ties in 2022, the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, to a comprehensive strategic partnership and became key partners across all fields. He said the visit further developed the relationship in a more future-oriented and strategic direction.
Spokesperson Lee said the state visit was part of “relay summit diplomacy” with ASEAN following trips this year to Singapore and the Philippines and the hosting of a state visit to South Korea by Indonesia’s president. He said the trip helped complete the best possible partnership with Vietnam across politics, the economy and culture.
The summit with To Lam was the first state event hosted by Vietnam’s new leadership, which took office earlier this month, and came eight months after To Lam’s visit to South Korea in August last year.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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