Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea: "Actively Supporting Resumption of Flights and Simplifying Entry and Exit for Korean Businesspeople"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 23rd, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) held a breakfast meeting with Nguyen Vu Tung, the Ambassador of Vietnam to Korea, exchanging opinions on ways to enhance Korea-Vietnam economic cooperation after the COVID-19 pandemic.

This breakfast meeting marked Ambassador Nguyen's first official meeting with Korean businesspeople since his appointment to Korea in August.

Attendees included Kwon Tae-shin, Vice Chairman of FKI; Choi Young-joo, President of the Korea-Vietnam Friendship Association; Kim Jung-soo, CEO of Ilsin Textile; Lee Sang-gi, Head of GS Construction Infrastructure Division; Oh Kyung-seok, CEO of Panco; as well as representatives from Lotte Holdings, SK, Hyundai Motor, POSCO, Korean Air, Doosan Heavy Industries, Hanwha Life, KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank, Korea Electric Wire, Poongsan, law firms Yulchon and Kim & Chang, totaling 24 related corporate and institutional figures.

In his greeting, Kwon Tae-shin, Vice Chairman of FKI, described Vietnam as "a global model country that has successfully managed both economic growth and epidemic control," adding, "The Vietnamese government allowed special entry for about 9,000 essential Korean engineers and businesspeople from April to the end of August, and since June, Korea's exports to Vietnam have recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels."

He continued, "If COVID-19 ends early and global economic conditions improve, we can open the era of $100 billion trade volume between Korea and Vietnam within the next 3 to 4 years," emphasizing, "To increase economic exchanges between the two countries, it is necessary to resume Korea-Vietnam flights, expand special entry target areas, allow entry for expatriate families, and shorten the quarantine period (currently two weeks)."

Ambassador Nguyen responded, "Korea and Vietnam are recognized worldwide as exemplary countries in COVID-19 epidemic control, and we hope to create new momentum for economic cooperation such as investment and trade amid the global value chain (GVC) restructuring," adding, "The embassy will actively support the prompt resumption of air routes and the simplification of entry and exit procedures for essential personnel of both countries."

At the meeting, major corporate attendees requested, in addition to improvements in Vietnam's entry and exit procedures for Korean businesspeople, the following: ▲ abolition or relaxation of dyeing and processing regulations in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam; ▲ consideration of Vietnamese government subsidies for the Ho Chi Minh Metro public-private partnership (PPP) project and support for private investor participation; ▲ application of Korean insurance industry best practices in Vietnam, such as the 25% bancassurance rule and permission for insurance companies to conduct credit loan businesses; ▲ and improvement of the distribution of low-quality steel products in Vietnam.

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