President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to Vietnam, will attend the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum on the 23rd (local time). Co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and the Vietnam Ministry of Finance, the forum will draw about 500 participants, including the two governments, public institutions, and businesspeople, with Korea's economic delegation of 109 companies. The two countries' corporations will discuss economic cooperation measures to respond to uncertainty stemming from the Middle East war and will sign about 70 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in fields including advanced technology, consumer goods, infrastructure, energy, and finance.
In his speech, Lee will emphasize that Korea and Vietnam are closely connected through trade and investment, and will note their commitment to a joint response to global dynamics and to shared growth. At the forum, Samsung Electronics, SK Innovation, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) will present plans to build component industry, power and AI industry ecosystems, and to train talent in science, technology, and advanced industries.
From Korea, Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry and chairman of SK, Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG, Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group, Chang In-hwa, chairman of POSCO Holdings, and Chung Ki-sun, chairman of HD Hyundai, will attend. From Vietnam, PVN Chairman Le Ngoc Son, EVN Chairman Dang Hoang An, Sun Group Chairman Dang Minh Truong, THACO Group Chairman Tran Ba Duong, and FPT Group Chairman Truong Gia Binh will be present.
Lee's visit to Vietnam is noteworthy as he is the first leader to be received since To Lam was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and president on the 7th. In the summit the previous day, Lee asked that Korean corporations be allowed to take part in Vietnam's high-speed rail, new town, and new airport infrastructure projects. In response, Lam said, "We hope Korean corporations with outstanding technological prowess and capabilities will contribute greatly to Vietnam's infrastructure development."
Accordingly, the two countries will sign a contract to export K-rail rolling stock and will also discuss cooperation on a new town development project worth over 1 trillion won. In particular, they agreed to solidify their "comprehensive strategic partnership" to achieve $150 billion (about 222 trillion won) in trade by 2030. Regarding the new airport project that Lee has said will be a model case of infrastructure cooperation, the government conveyed to the Vietnamese side its intent to cooperate on Dongnam New Town Development District 1 for $740 million (1.0937 trillion won) and on the Ja Vinh new airport operations consulting project for $70 million (103.4 billion won).