Yoon's State Visit to Vietnam Today... Full-Scale 'Sales Diplomacy' Following UAE and US

Scheduled Korea-Vietnam Summit
"Expecting Multiple MOUs on Supply Chains, Technology, etc."
Korea-Vietnam Business Forum with 500 Businesspeople Attending

President Yoon Suk-yeol will make a state visit to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, for three days and two nights starting on the 22nd (local time). After launching an all-out campaign to attract the 2030 Busan World Expo in Paris, France, President Yoon plans to focus all his efforts on achieving economic outcomes during this visit to Vietnam. Having secured numerous investments during his state visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January and the United States in April, President Yoon is expected to achieve several economic successes once again as the 'Republic of Korea's No. 1 Salesperson.'

Starting from this day, President Yoon will hold a Korea-Vietnam summit with Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi, followed by a schedule focused on economic and future cooperation, including the Korea-Vietnam Partnership Expo, a luncheon with business leaders, a business forum, and a dialogue with the digital future generation.

On December 5th last year, President Yoon Suk-yeol and former Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on enhancing cooperation based on a comprehensive strategic partnership at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul.
[Photo by the Presidential Office] [Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum attended by 500 businesspeople from both countries, President Yoon will evaluate the achievements of economic cooperation between the two nations and propose a partnership for the next 30 years. Chief Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok introduced in a pre-departure briefing, "This event will serve as an opportunity to sign multiple MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding) in areas such as supply chain cooperation, infrastructure exports, development cooperation, and new industry technology collaboration."

As Vietnam is South Korea's third-largest trading partner and a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it is expected that various economic achievements will be made through President Yoon's state visit. Vietnam, which hosts the largest overseas Korean community among ASEAN countries with 160,000 residents, is home to over 9,000 Korean companies, creating more than 700,000 jobs. Notably, during the Korea-Vietnam summit held in December last year when then-State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc made a state visit to Korea, both countries agreed to expand cooperation in core mineral supply chains, renewable energy, innovative science and technology, and smart city sectors, aiming to achieve a trade volume of $150 billion (approximately 192 trillion KRW) by 2030.

This state visit will be accompanied by an economic delegation of 205 members, the largest since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and twice the size of the delegation during the UAE state visit earlier this year. The delegation includes major corporate leaders such as Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun, LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, and heads of economic organizations. A representative from one of the companies participating in the economic delegation expressed expectations for economic outcomes, saying, "Since many Korean companies have entered Vietnam and hold a significant share in its economy, we believe President Yoon's state visit will give us a chance to stand tall."

The economic achievements President Yoon has made during previous state visits also raise expectations for this visit to Vietnam. During his state visit to the UAE, President Yoon secured a $30 billion (approximately 40 trillion KRW) investment from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan through a summit and joint statement, covering sectors such as energy, nuclear power, hydrogen, and defense. This was the largest single-country investment in UAE history, laying the groundwork for expanding cooperation across various economic fields including traditional energy, eco-friendly industries, and advanced industries. Given that President Yoon led a large economic delegation of over 100 members, it was also evaluated that this enabled Korean companies to actively pursue business activities in the UAE. During his state visit to the United States, President Yoon led an economic delegation of 122 companies, successfully conducting sales diplomacy by attracting $5.9 billion (approximately 7.6 trillion KRW) in investments and signing 50 MOUs in advanced industries such as clean energy, bio, batteries, and semiconductors.

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