Please provide the context of the visit and its significance:
At the invitation of South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, along with his wife and a high-level Vietnamese delegation, paid an official visit to South Korea. This trip marked the first visit by a Vietnamese leader since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in December 2022 and was Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s inaugural visit to South Korea as the head of the Vietnamese government.
The visit can be summarized as having a “significant meaning, rich program, extensive content, and substantial outcomes.” It was a great success, achieving its set goals and marking a practical step in implementing the foreign policy direction of the 13th National Party Congress and the Vietnam-South Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The visit was an important milestone, reflecting the positive and strong development of the relationship between the two countries.
Describe the activities and engagements during the visit:
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a packed schedule with 34 engagements involving political leaders, economic figures, experts, scientists, friendship organizations, and non-governmental organizations. He held talks with Prime Minister Han Duck Soo and witnessed the signing of cooperation documents between the two countries’ ministries and sectors. He also met with President Yoon Suk Yeol and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik. The Prime Minister attended and delivered speeches at three forums focusing on economics, labor, tourism, and culture, as well as two seminars with leading South Korean economic organizations and experts in the fields of semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI).
Additionally, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presented a policy speech at Seoul National University, the Samsung Semiconductor Complex, and met with leaders of prominent South Korean conglomerates. He visited the Vietnamese Embassy and interacted with the Vietnamese community in South Korea, including visiting a Vietnamese-South Korean multicultural family. During this trip, the accompanying ministers and local leaders also had dozens of meetings and worked closely with their South Korean counterparts. All interactions with the South Korean side took place in an atmosphere of sincerity, trust, substance, and mutual understanding.
Highlight the notable outcomes of the official visit:
The outcomes of the visit can be categorized into five main aspects:
First, the visit yielded significant and tangible results, including the leaders of the two countries agreeing to issue a Joint Press Communiqué after the talks. This communiqué outlined eight major points detailing the progress of Vietnam-South Korea cooperation since the upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022 and specifying concrete cooperation areas to promote substantive and effective development in politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, science-technology, culture, tourism, labor, people-to-people exchanges, and new areas of cooperation.
Various ministries, sectors, and enterprises from both countries signed 40 cooperation documents in fields such as digital transformation, renewable energy, green transition, climate change, semiconductors, AI, small and medium-sized enterprise collaboration, cultural exchange, and tourism.
“Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to South Korea holds significant meaning, with a rich program, extensive content, and substantial outcomes”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son
Second, the visit deepened political trust and strengthened the good personal relationship between the high-level leaders of the two countries. Both sides affirmed their determination to implement the agreements reached at the highest level, advancing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a practical, effective, and long-lasting manner.
South Korean leaders emphasized the many historical and cultural similarities between the two nations and their mutually beneficial economic and human resource complementarities. The presence of nearly 300,000 Vietnamese citizens in South Korea and 200,000 South Korean citizens in Vietnam, including 90,000 Vietnamese-South Korean multicultural families, serves as a natural and solid bond, fostering a close and mutually beneficial relationship and contributing to the comprehensive and substantive cooperation between the two countries.
South Korean leaders affirmed that Vietnam is a key focus in their country’s foreign policy in the region, including the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the ASEAN-Korea Solidarity Initiative (KASI). Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed Vietnam’s support for South Korea’s development policies and objectives, including the “Global Pivotal State” strategy.
Third, the visit achieved substantial results, particularly in economic, trade, and investment cooperation, thus contributing to the implementation of the Action Program in June 2023. Both sides reaffirmed that economic cooperation is one of the most important pillars in the bilateral relationship and agreed to take specific measures to soon achieve the goal of raising two-way trade to 100 billion USD by 2025 and aiming for 150 billion USD by 2030 in a balanced and sustainable manner. They also agreed to facilitate procedures to open each other’s markets for Vietnamese pomelos and South Korean melons in 2024.
South Korea affirmed its commitment to continue considering Vietnam as a strategic partner in development cooperation (ODA) and pledged to support capacity building for Vietnamese enterprises to participate more deeply in the production supply chains of South Korean enterprises. The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in promoting the stable supply chain of core minerals to ensure economic security for both countries.
At the Vietnam-South Korea Business Forum and the Seminar with leading South Korean economic organizations in energy and finance, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared Vietnam’s economic development orientation and invited South Korean enterprises to expand their investments in Vietnam. He also witnessed the signing of 23 cooperation documents between businesses and localities of the two countries in trade, investment, healthcare, education, semiconductors, energy, and enhanced cooperation between Vietnamese localities and South Korean enterprises.
South Korean businesses highly appreciated Vietnam’s safe and stable investment environment and the potential for collaboration. They expressed gratitude for the Vietnamese government’s efforts in addressing difficulties and creating favorable conditions for businesses to invest confidently and sustainably in Vietnam. The South Korean companies present showed interest and desire to invest in various fields, including auxiliary industries, digital transformation, green economy, semiconductors, environmentally friendly energy, biotechnology, 5G networks, and smart cities.
Fourth, the visit promoted cooperation in human resources, labor, culture, and tourism. Both sides affirmed the mutual benefits of labor cooperation. Vietnamese workers in South Korea are known for their diligence, skillfulness, and creativity, making significant contributions to the socioeconomic development of both countries. South Korea pledged to support Vietnam in training workers in the industrial sector and creating a favorable environment for Vietnamese workers to live and work stably and conveniently in South Korea.
The two countries agreed to strengthen cultural and tourism cooperation, aiming for a people-to-people exchange of 5 million visitors. South Korean leaders welcomed and affirmed their support for the opening of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Busan in 2024 and the establishment of the Vietnam Cultural Center in South Korea. South Korea will share its experience and support Vietnam in developing its cultural industry. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed simplifying visa procedures and eventually waiving visas for Vietnamese citizens entering South Korea to boost tourism cooperation between the two countries. He also emphasized enhancing cooperation between localities, effectively implementing the “Meet Korea” mechanism at the local level, and requested the South Korean government to continue supporting and creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live and work stably and long-term in South Korea.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with leaders of leading South Korean corporations – Image source: VGP
During the visit, South Korea affirmed its support for Vietnam in successfully organizing the P4G Summit in April 2025.
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