Writing a new chapter of Vietnam-Korea cooperation

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Woo Won Shik on the occasion of attending the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, Switzerland, July 2025. (Photo: People's Deputies Newspaper)

Taking place in the context of the two countries' relations developing well in many fields, especially after the two countries officially upgraded their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the visit affirmed the determination of the two countries' senior leaders to continue to foster the close friendship and comprehensive and effective cooperation between Vietnam and Korea.

Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic relations on December 22, 1992. The seeds of friendship have been persistently planted by generations of leaders and people of the two countries over the past 30 years, and today they have grown into tall green trees bearing many sweet fruits.

During General Secretary To Lam's State visit to the Republic of Korea in August 2025, the two sides adopted a Joint Statement on deepening the Vietnam-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. An important chapter in the relationship between the two countries was opened, promising to mark many achievements in the context of each country facing a new stage of development.

President Lee Jae Myung of the Republic of Korea affirmed that the Vietnam-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is of particular importance in the overall relations with Asian countries. Political trust has been continuously strengthened through the maintenance of high-level visits and contacts, as well as bilateral cooperation mechanisms. The two sides agreed to continue to coordinate effectively and on schedule to implement the Action Program to implement the Vietnam-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The relationship between the legislative bodies of the two countries has developed strongly and substantially in recent years, achieving many new results, playing an important role in deepening the Vietnam-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The two sides regularly hold talks, contacts, and exchange delegations, while closely cooperating and supporting each other at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), etc., actively contributing to maintaining peace, security, and stability in the region and the world.

In that context, the official visit to Vietnam by Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Woo Won Shik and his wife opens up opportunities to continue promoting Vietnam-Korea relations through parliamentary diplomacy.

On the basis of constantly consolidated political trust, Vietnam-Korea relations have developed well in many fields. Korea continues to be one of Vietnam's leading economic partners, especially in the fields of trade, investment and development cooperation. In terms of trade, Korea is Vietnam's third largest trading partner and third largest export market. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover will reach 81.5 billion USD, up 7.3% compared to 2023. Accumulated to October 2025, Korea will continue to be Vietnam's largest investor, accounting for more than 23% of the total number of projects and 18% of the total registered foreign direct investment capital in Vietnam, focusing on important sectors of the Vietnamese economy such as manufacturing, high technology, electronics, automobiles and auto parts, construction... In the field of development cooperation, Vietnam continues to be Korea's top priority partner in providing ODA capital. In June 2023, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement with the Korea Economic Promotion Fund worth 2 billion USD to implement investment projects to develop Vietnam's transport infrastructure and urban infrastructure.

In addition, bilateral cooperation in other areas such as defense, security, science and technology, culture, education, labor, health, and people-to-people exchange has been strongly promoted. The number of Vietnamese students studying in Korea has increased rapidly in recent years, reaching about 43,000 people to date. Korean has been taught in many universities in Vietnam, with more than 60 universities having established Korean language departments nationwide, the largest in Asia. In addition, the two countries currently have about 100 cooperative and twinning relationships between localities.

Welcoming the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Woo Won Shik and his wife on an official visit aims to continue implementing Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, multilateralization, proactive and active international integration comprehensively, deeply and effectively. The visit spreads a strong message that, on the path of continuing innovation and entering the era of development, Vietnam wishes to have comprehensive, deep, timely and effective companionship and support from international friends, especially from comprehensive strategic partners, including the Republic of Korea.

The visit also demonstrates Vietnam's consistent policy of always attaching importance to the cooperative relationship with Korea; wishing to deepen bilateral cooperation with higher political trust, more comprehensive cooperation, and increasingly deeper and closer exchanges and understanding between the two countries. This is an opportunity for the two countries to continue promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of defense, security, economy, science and technology, and at the same time expand new areas of cooperation, commensurate with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

PEOPLE

Source: https://nhandan.vn/viet-tiep-chuong-hop-tac-moi-viet-nam-han-quoc-post924389.html