Sung Yun-mo Holds Video Conference with Vietnamese Minister to Discuss Cooperation Measures for COVID-19 Response

"Support for Businesspeople's Entry... Request to Play Host Country Role"
Opening of TASK Center, Discussion on Resolving ENT Regulations
Holding 'Video Signing Ceremony' Applying Contactless Economy

Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Sung Yoon-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, discussed economic cooperation measures to respond to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, on the 13th.

Through a video conference on the same day, Minister Sung stated, "It is expected that the COVID-19 situation will not end in the short term," and added, "In the future, thorough quarantine measures must be implemented alongside efforts to minimize the negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy."

He especially emphasized, "It is necessary to guarantee the movement of essential business personnel to ensure the smooth operation of the closely established supply chains between the two countries," and requested, "Please actively support the smooth entry of Korean businesspeople into Vietnam through the Ministry of Industry and Trade."

Additionally, based on the future cases of allowing businesspeople from Korea and Vietnam to enter, he asked for Vietnam, as the ASEAN chair country, to take a leading role in ensuring the systematic movement of essential business personnel within ASEAN.

They also discussed the prompt opening of the TASK Center to strengthen cooperation in the materials and components sector and the resolution of the Economic Needs Test (ENT) regulations for Korean companies.

The TASK (Technology Advice and Solutions from Korea) Center refers to a hub institution in Vietnam that supports Korea-Vietnam cooperation in the materials and components sector through technical guidance, workforce training, and testing and certification support locally. The ENT regulation mandates that foreign companies undergo screening from the second retail store onward to protect domestic retail businesses when opening retail stores in Vietnam.

Furthermore, the two countries held a virtual signing ceremony to decide on the establishment of a working group for the 'Electronic Origin Data Exchange System (EODES)' at the Korea-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Joint Committee level.

This is a representative pilot administrative case of the global untact (non-face-to-face) economy spreading due to COVID-19. In a situation where face-to-face meetings are difficult, it is expected that government cooperation will be swiftly promoted through video signing between the ministers of the two countries.

Once the working group is operational and EODES is introduced, the certificates of origin that our export companies have been issuing in paper form and submitting to Vietnamese customs will be processed electronically between the customs authorities of both countries.

This is expected to resolve corporate difficulties such as certificate forgery, customs clearance delays, and document rejection, enabling faster customs procedures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.