Lee Jae-yong to Visit Vietnam for Business Trip Five Days After Returning Home... Meeting Scheduled with Prime Minister Nguyen

Noh Tae-moon, President of Samsung Electronics Wireless Business Division, and Lee Dong-hoon, President of Samsung Display, Accompany Each Other

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is departing for Vietnam through Gimpo International Airport on the 19th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong embarked on a business trip to Vietnam on the 19th, just five days after returning from a trip to the Netherlands. During this trip, Vice Chairman Lee is scheduled to have a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He is also expected to tour local display and smartphone manufacturing plants in Vietnam.

On the same day at 3 p.m., Vice Chairman Lee departed for Vietnam from Seoul Gimpo International Airport on a Samsung Electronics chartered flight. Accompanying him on this trip were President Roh Tae-moon of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Business (IM) Division and President Lee Dong-hoon of Samsung Display.

When asked about the background of this trip and his return schedule, as well as whether there were plans following Prime Minister Phuc’s previous request to build a semiconductor factory in Vietnam, Vice Chairman Lee replied, "(There are) many reporters here," before heading to immigration.

Presidents Roh and Lee arrived at Gimpo Airport earlier than Vice Chairman Lee. When reporters asked President Lee if there were plans to increase production of foldable displays in Vietnam, he briefly answered, "We have to go and see."

President Roh was asked about additional smartphone-related investments in Vietnam, whether the Galaxy S21 would be released earlier than before, if the Galaxy Z Fold2 sales would exceed one million units, and if a new type of foldable device was being prepared for next year, but he reserved his answers, saying, "We will see when we get there."

President No Tae-moon of Samsung Electronics' Wireless Business Division (second from the right in the photo) will depart for Vietnam on the 19th along with Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Photo by Ki-min Lee victor.lee@

Samsung Display President Lee Dong-hoon is departing for Vietnam through Seoul Gimpo Airport on the 19th. Photo by Ki-min Lee victor.lee@

This marks Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s first trip to Vietnam in two years since his visit in October 2018. He had previously planned to visit Vietnam in February to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Samsung Electronics’ research and development (R&D) center being built in the THT New City area of Hanoi, but the event was canceled due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Subsequently, travel to Vietnam was restricted due to entry bans and quarantine requirements caused by COVID-19, but recently, the Vietnamese government decided to apply a 'fast track' (simplified entry procedures) exemption from quarantine for diplomats and businesspeople, allowing Vice Chairman Lee to visit Vietnam.

During this trip, Vice Chairman Lee is expected to hold a private meeting with Prime Minister Phuc to discuss business cooperation plans in Vietnam. This will be the third one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Phuc and Vice Chairman Lee, following Lee’s visit to Vietnam in October 2018 and Phuc’s visit to Korea last November. Each time they met, Prime Minister Phuc emphasized that "the Vietnamese government considers Samsung’s success as Vietnam’s success" and requested expanded investments such as semiconductor production plants in Vietnam.

Therefore, attention is focused on whether Vice Chairman Lee will specifically respond to Prime Minister Phuc’s repeated requests during this visit.

Samsung Electronics currently operates mobile phone factories in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen provinces in northern Vietnam, and TV and home appliance production facilities in Ho Chi Minh City. Since February, construction has also begun on Southeast Asia’s largest R&D center in the THT New City area of Hanoi.

Meanwhile, the anticipated meeting between Vice Chairman Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is unlikely to take place. Even if Vice Chairman Lee enters Vietnam on this day, he will have to wait for the results of a COVID-19 test before engaging in external activities. Therefore, Vice Chairman Lee is expected to be able to conduct outside activities on the 20th.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Suga is scheduled to depart for Indonesia on the 20th after completing a three-day, two-night itinerary in Vietnam.

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