From VKFTA to RCEP: Advantages to help Vietnam - Korea trade accelerate

Vietnam - Korea trade has benefited significantly from the boost of the Vietnam - Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), which has been in effect for nearly 10 years, and a series of other multilateral FTAs such as AKFTA, RCEP, etc.

Vietnam - Korea bilateral trade is greatly supported by Korean FDI enterprises (Photo: Duc Thanh)

Bilateral trade exchange milestones

Vietnam - Korea trade has recorded strong growth, despite the impacts of the global economy .

Data from the Department of Foreign Market Development ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) shows that in the first 6 months of 2025, bilateral trade reached 42.1 billion USD, an increase of 7.5% over the same period in 2024. Of which, Vietnam exported 13.7 billion USD to Korea, an increase of 12% and imported 28.4 billion USD from Korea, an increase of 5.5% over the same period in 2024. Vietnam's trade deficit with Korea is 14.6 billion USD.

In 2024, Vietnam-Korea bilateral trade will reach 81.5 billion USD, up 7.3% compared to 2023. Of which, Vietnam exported 25.6 billion USD to Korea, up 9.1% and imported 55.9 billion USD from Korea, up 6.5% over the same period in 2023. Vietnam's trade deficit with Korea is 30.3 billion USD.

Notably, according to the Department of Foreign Market Development, in recent years, trade between the two countries has benefited greatly from signed bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), especially the VKFTA.

Vietnam-Korea bilateral trade is approaching 100 billion USD, a milestone that the two countries aim to achieve by the end of 2025, creating momentum to reach 150 billion USD by 2030.

  The two countries agreed to cooperate closely and support each other within multilateral frameworks, effectively utilizing free trade agreements (VKFTA, ASEAN - Korea, RCEP...) and other economic frameworks (APEC, IPEF...).

  Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade

The VKFTA took effect in December 2015, opening a new chapter in trade and investment cooperation. By the end of this year, the FTA will have been in effect for 10 years.

In recent years, Korea has been an important market providing input materials for many manufacturing industries in Vietnam, most notably electronics, textiles, etc., and is also a top 5 export market of our country.

Not only that, the export structure of the two sides is clearly complementary and has little direct competition. Vietnam exports products that Korean FDI enterprises produce (phones and components, computers, electronic products and components, machinery, equipment, spare parts) and products that Vietnam has strengths in such as agricultural and aquatic products, processed foods, textiles, footwear, and wooden products.

On the other hand, South Korea is the second largest supplier after China for components, accessories, machinery, equipment, and raw materials that are inputs for manufacturing industries, especially export manufacturing industries in Vietnam. Last year, South Korea supplied Vietnam with petroleum alone worth up to 2.33 billion USD.

In addition to bilateral FTAs, Vietnamese businesses have more options when conducting import-export trade with Korea, thanks to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which will take effect from 2022 and another FTA, the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA).

Ms. Trinh Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that South Korea is one of the leading markets for importing goods from Vietnam with the highest rate of FTA preferential use. The group of goods exported to South Korea with the best rate of FTA preferential use includes seafood (96.32%), agricultural products such as vegetables, coffee and pepper all have very high rates of preferential C/O use, reaching 91.18%, 94.54% and 100% respectively; wood and wood products (73.76%); footwear (100%); textiles (100%)...

Striving to reach turnover of 150 billion USD

Vietnam and South Korea are working together towards the goal of bringing bilateral trade turnover to 150 billion USD by 2030 in a more balanced direction.

The 150 billion USD mark is not too far away, because there is a close interweaving of the supply chain of goods between the two countries. Korea has an important advantage as the leading country in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam. As of May 2025, Korea's total registered capital in Vietnam reached 94 billion USD, with 10,203 projects, accounting for 23.5% of the total number of projects and 18.1% of registered FDI in Vietnam. In the opposite direction, Vietnam invested in 112 projects in Korea with a total capital of 37.4 million USD.

Import-export activities are greatly supported by Korean enterprises. Samsung Vietnam alone contributed an export turnover of 54.4 billion USD last year, becoming the largest exporter in Vietnam. Currently, the group is operating 6 factories and 1 research and development (R&D) center in Hanoi , with a total investment of 23.2 billion USD.

In addition to production and export, Samsung also invests heavily in the domestic supply chain, helping the number of Vietnamese suppliers increase to 306 enterprises.

Along with Samsung, other Korean economic groups operating in Vietnam play an important role in improving production and export capacity, helping Vietnam gradually participate more deeply in the global value chain, especially in the fields of electronics, automobiles, mechanics, metallurgy, chemicals, textiles, footwear, etc.

In the future, when leading enterprises such as Samsung, LG... concretize their investment commitments to expand production in Vietnam, it will be an important support for two-way trade to improve further.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tu-vkfta-toi-rcep-loi-the-giup-thuong-mai-viet-nam---han-quoc-tang-toc-d357710.html