The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that, at the invitation of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his spouse, General Secretary To Lam and his spouse will lead a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation on a state visit to South Korea from August 10 to 13.

Politically, both countries maintain strong ties across all channels - Party, Government, and National Assembly. High-level exchanges have continued in various flexible formats, reinforcing political trust between the two nations.

South Korea remains Vietnam’s top investor, second-largest source of tourists, second-largest provider of official development assistance (ODA), third-largest trading partner, and third-largest destination for Vietnamese labor exports. In 2024, bilateral trade reached USD 81.5 billion, up 7.3% year-on-year. Of this, Vietnam’s exports to South Korea totaled USD 25.6 billion (up 9.1%), while imports hit USD 55.9 billion (up 6.5%), resulting in a trade deficit of USD 30.3 billion.

Bilateral cooperation mechanisms remain active, such as the Deputy Prime Minister-level Economic Dialogue, the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, and the Joint Ministerial Committee on Nuclear Power, Energy, and Industry Cooperation. Both sides are working on an "Action Plan" to achieve balanced bilateral trade of USD 150 billion by 2030.

In terms of labor cooperation, both governments signed an extension to the Memorandum of Understanding in June 2023 on the dispatch and acceptance of Vietnamese workers under South Korea’s Employment Permit System (EPS), valid for two years from the signing date.

In 2024, South Korea remained Vietnam's third-largest labor market. About 7,900 EPS workers were accepted, bringing the total number of Vietnamese workers in South Korea to approximately 88,000, including skilled, seasonal, and EPS workers.

The year 2024 also marked record-breaking people-to-people exchanges, with 4.6 million South Koreans visiting Vietnam and 600,000 Vietnamese visiting South Korea, surpassing the 5 million milestone for the first time. In Q1 2025 alone, South Korea was Vietnam’s second-largest source of international tourists with 1.26 million arrivals, accounting for 21% of all foreign visitors to the country.

The number of Vietnamese living and working in South Korea reached around 320,000 in 2024, up by 50,000 from the previous year. This includes approximately 100,000 students, over 100,000 workers, and more than 40,000 Vietnamese women married to South Korean men (excluding those who have acquired Korean citizenship). Others reside under investment cooperation, family reunification, or short-term work programs. Additionally, descendants of the Ly Hoa Son and Ly Tinh Thien clans number around 1,000 people.

On August 6, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held a phone call with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. The two leaders agreed to strengthen political trust through high-level and multilevel delegation exchanges, effectively organizing upcoming visits.

They also committed to deepening economic, trade, and investment cooperation, encouraging more South Korean businesses to invest in Vietnam, and facilitating mutual market access.

Both sides plan to promote collaboration in national defense, science and technology, and continue supporting each other at international forums, including ASEAN–Korea and Mekong–Korea mechanisms.

Vietnam and South Korea pledged close coordination to ensure the success of the 2025 APEC Summit in South Korea and the Mekong–Korea Summit later that year.

Tran Thuong