Vietnam is South Korea's third largest trading partner.

Thanks to a strong recovery in the semiconductor sector, Vietnam maintained its third position in South Korea's trade partnership.

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MoTIE) and International Trade Association Korea (KITA) said that Vietnam will continue to be Korea's third largest trading partner in 2024, after China and the US.

According to statistics, the total bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and Korea reached 86.7 billion USD, up 9.2% compared to 2023. Of which, Korea's exports to Vietnam reached 58.3 billion USD, up 9.1%, while imports from Vietnam reached 28.4 billion USD, up 9.6%.

The trade growth rate between Vietnam and South Korea reached 9.3%, surpassing other major partners such as the US (6.9%), China (1.9%) and Japan (1.1%). The trade balance was in favor of South Korea with a surplus of 29.9 billion USD, an increase of 2.3 billion USD compared to the previous year.

High-value electronic components contribute to making Vietnam the third largest trade partner of Korea. Photo: Trade opportunities

This result is largely thanks to the strong recovery in the semiconductor sector. South Korea's semiconductor chip exports to Vietnam in the 11 months of 2024 reached 16.5 billion USD, up 46.3%.

In addition, other key export items such as wireless communication equipment and synthetic resins also recorded impressive growth.

In fact, trade relations Vietnam - Korea have developed rapidly since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, with trade turnover increasing more than 150 times. After signing the FTA in 2014, trade turnover increased more than 2.5 times. Currently, South Korea is the second largest importer and the third largest exporter of Vietnam.

In the tourism sector, South Korea leads with 4.1 million visitors to Vietnam, accounting for 1/4 of total international visitors.

Mr. Hong Ji Sang - Head of trend analysis department at KITA - commented that Southeast Asia is becoming a solution to diversify Korea's trade relations, in which Vietnam plays a key role.

Source