National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik holds a series of meetings in 2025 with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary and President To Lam, as well as other senior officials. (National Assembly Secretariat via Wikimedia)
South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung paid a diplomatic visit to Vietnam from April 22 to 24, at the invitation of General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm. He described the state visit as “special”, calling it a “vivid example” of the political relationship between the two nations. Lee, in return, congratulated Tô Lâm on his election as President of Vietnam.
This official visit aimed to deepen and strengthen the existing Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across multiple sectors between both countries. Both countries signed 12 government-level agreements and several other business deals covering security, trade, political, environmental, technological affairs, energy and infrastructure. Tô Lâm also pledged to elevate the ASEAN-Korea Action Plan for 2026-2030 in order to accelerate trade integration.
He further emphasised collaboration on technology transfer through the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKIST) as well as the importance of strengthening people-to-people contact through cultural programmes. Both sides also emphasised adherence to the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 to promote peace in the East Sea and on the Korean Peninsula.
The next day,Lee was scheduled to meet with high-ranking Vietnamese officials, including Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng and National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn. The discussions coincided with the 34th anniversary of bilateral relations, with both sides promising to deepen cooperation and use existing frameworks to support Vietnam’s long-term ambition of becoming a high-income developed nation.
Talks also advanced cooperation on large-scale projects, including renewable energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and high-speed rail. Both sides set an ambition to expand bilateral trade to 150 billion US dollars by 2030.
In the business sector, both leaders also attended the Vietnam–South Korea Business Roundtable and the Vietnam–South Korea Economic Forum. The events marked a high-level advancement of economic cooperation, with 73 business deals signed. South Korean business enterprises in Vietnam now number around 10,000 in total, making it the largest cumulative investor.
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