Choi Tae-won and Vietnamese National Assembly Speaker Meeting, MOU on Carbon Reduction Project Cooperation

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group (fourth from the left) is taking a commemorative photo after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote comprehensive cooperation for carbon reduction with Vietnamese government officials at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on the 13th. / Photo by SK Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] SK Group has decided to strengthen cooperation in eco-friendly businesses to achieve carbon reduction necessary for Net Zero in partnership with the Vietnamese government.

According to SK Group on the 13th, Chairman Chey Tae-won met with government officials including Vuong Dinh Hue, Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on the morning of the same day, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote comprehensive cooperation in eco-friendly business sectors for Net Zero and carbon reduction. This is the first time a major Korean company has signed an MOU with a foreign government for carbon reduction cooperation.

Also attending the meeting were SK Inc. CEO Jang Dong-hyun and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai. Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and about ten officials at ministerial and vice-ministerial levels visited Korea on the 12th to strengthen Korea-Vietnam economic cooperation, and their first official schedule was a meeting with SK Group.

At the meeting, Chairman Chey expressed support for the Vietnamese government's carbon reduction efforts, which declared "carbon neutrality by 2050," and discussed various cooperation plans in eco-friendly areas such as renewable energy and ICT.

Chairman Chey stated, "SK Group aims to contribute to reducing 200 million tons of carbon, about 1% of the global carbon reduction target by 2030, and plans to actively participate in global carbon reduction beyond Korea." He also said, "Under the Vietnamese government's policy support, we will create good investment and business opportunities that can contribute to carbon reduction. In particular, it would be good to explore opportunities in hydrogen-centered renewable energy and gas field CCS (carbon capture and storage)."

As the chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman Chey requested policy support from the Vietnamese government so that other domestic companies besides SK Group can participate in business cooperation to improve Vietnam's environmental issues. He also proposed the establishment of an eco-friendly business fund linked with Vietnamese public enterprises, as eco-friendly businesses require many investors.

In response, Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said, "We are establishing government-level strategies related to carbon reduction in eco-friendly and digital sectors," and added, "We believe SK's participation and support will be a great help, and we will actively cooperate."

SK Group has set a goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the global carbon neutrality target year of 2050. A company official said, "The 'global story' strategy emphasized by Chairman Chey is that SK must create not only economic value but also social value such as carbon reduction and jobs in overseas countries where it operates," and added, "We will continue public-private cooperation in ESG (environment, social, governance) management beyond investment in local Vietnamese companies."

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