Yoon Meets Vietnam's Top 4 Power Figures... South Korea Expands Influence in Southeast Asia

Consensus on Economy, Diplomatic Security, and People-to-People Exchanges
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Presentation of Practical Directions for Indo-Pacific Strategy and KASI Implementation

On the second day of President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit to Vietnam on the 23rd (local time), he met sequentially with Vietnamese national leaders ranked 1st to 4th in power, including State President Vo Van Thuong, to strengthen the friendship between Korea and Vietnam.

In particular, based on the 17 various memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed at the Korea-Vietnam summit and the series of meetings, it is evaluated that concrete directions for the implementation of Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy and the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI) were presented.

After the summit with President Thuong in the morning, President Yoon held successive meetings with Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (ranked 1st), Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister (3rd), and Vuong Dinh Hue, Chairman of the National Assembly (4th), engaging in broad discussions on cooperation in economy, diplomatic security, supply chains, and human exchanges following the elevation to a "comprehensive strategic partnership."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is taking a commemorative photo on the 23rd (local time) in Hanoi before meeting with Nguyen Phu Trong, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who is the top-ranking power figure in Vietnam.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

During the 95-minute summit with President Thuong that morning, President Yoon agreed to expand cooperation on supply chains of critical minerals such as rare earths, establish a permanent joint operating committee to increase trade volume to $150 billion by 2030, collaborate on climate change response related to origin, and strengthen economic cooperation including urban development. They also agreed to enhance naval and coast guard cooperation by transferring decommissioned warships.

Additionally, the Korean government decided to increase the limit of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) fund support from $1.5 billion to $2 billion over the next seven years and provide a total of $4 billion in concessional loans to Vietnam by 2030. Notably, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will support joint research between the two countries with $30 million in grants over ten years. Continued support for the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) was also confirmed.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is shaking hands with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam at the Prime Minister's Office in Hanoi on the 23rd (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon and the leaders spoke with one voice on the necessity of cooperation between Korea and Vietnam in economic and security areas. President Yoon requested General Secretary Trong to promote human exchanges and education and training in advanced technology fields; Prime Minister Chinh was asked to cooperate in supply chains, economic security, energy, smart cities, as well as improvements in finance, taxation, and land regulations. Chairman Hue was urged to take measures to enhance the rights and interests of companies and citizens of both countries when drafting or amending major domestic laws.

In response, General Secretary Trong told President Yoon, "Vietnam highly values its relationship with Korea and is pleased to have elevated bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties last year, laying the foundation to further develop cooperation." Prime Minister Chinh also expressed hope to promote defense and defense industry cooperation and cyber security collaboration, promising to support the activities of Korean companies.

Regarding the specific form of the Korean version of the Indo-Pacific strategy, which includes ODA and joint development for peace and prosperity announced by President Yoon last year, Vietnam, a key country in Southeast Asia, expressed support, thereby creating an opportunity to strengthen influence in Southeast Asia. Prime Minister Chinh stated, "Vietnam supports Korea's vision as a 'global pivotal state' and highly appreciates the intention to strengthen Korea-ASEAN relations through KASI." He added, "We will actively cooperate as the coordinator of Korea-ASEAN dialogue."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is taking a commemorative photo with Vuong Dinh Hue, Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, at the Hanoi National Assembly on the 23rd (local time) before their meeting.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In particular, the joint development of rare earths and the provision of decommissioned warships on this day are evaluated as opportunities to jointly counter China's semiconductor ambitions and the Belt and Road Initiative.

However, a senior official from the presidential office drew a line, saying, "The tonnage of the ships transferred to Vietnam after the Korea Coast Guard uses them within a certain limit is not large enough to be deployed to the open ocean or to be involved in conflicts in the South China Sea with China."

He added, "Moreover, rather than being a reaction against a specific country, amid the Ukraine war and the worsening global food and energy crises causing instability in economic security supply chains, diversifying supply chains in strategically important industrial sectors is a safe choice for us," denying any such implication.

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