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Lee says ties with Vietnam on path to deeper 'strategic, future-oriented' cooperation

Published: 07 Aug. 2025, 21:19

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with top presidential secretaries at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on July 31, 2025. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Lee Jae Myung said bilateral relations between Korea and Vietnam are ready to reach new heights by expanding into “strategic and future-oriented” sectors, such as artificial intelligence and infrastructure.

Lee made the remark in a media interview ahead of the upcoming state visit to Korea by Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary To Lam early next week, calling the Southeast Asian nation an “indispensable” partner in not only economics, but also peace and stability.

“The relationship between the Republic of Korea and Vietnam is much closer than the geographical distance,” Lee told Vietnam News Agency in a written interview published Thursday.

“The bilateral relationship will not only stop at trade and investment cooperation as it is now, but will reach out to collaboration in future strategic areas, such as national infrastructure, science and technology and human resources training,” he said.

Lee's office said Lam will make a four-day trip to Korea starting Sunday, in what will be the first visit by a foreign leader since Lee took office in early June.

Lee said that Lam's state visit demonstrates the importance Korea attaches to its relations with Vietnam and will be another meaningful chapter in the two nations' bilateral ties.

Lee took note of the robust economic cooperation the two countries have maintained over the past three decades, with Vietnam now being Korea's third-largest trading partner and more than 10,000 Korean companies operating in Vietnam.

General Secretary To Lam speaks during a press conference after The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) elected President To Lam as General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee, in Hanoi, Vietnam, Aug. 3, 2024. [EPA/YONHAP]

“Vietnam is a country with full potential to become a center of new growth industries with advantages such as young and talented human resources; attractive investment environment,” he said.

“I am confident that Vietnam and the Republic of Korea will continue to consolidate their position as each other's most reliable partners.”

Lee pointed out that Vietnam's cooperation is important for Seoul's peace efforts for the Korean Peninsula.

“As peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula are no longer a particular issue confined to the region, Vietnam is an indispensable and essential partner in the transition toward reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas,” he said.

Lee also noted that Vietnam's popular tourist city of Da Nang is often jokingly referred to in Korea as “Da Nang of Gyeonggi” — the province where he served as governor before entering politics and becoming president — because so many South Koreans travel there for vacation.

Lee added that there are around 100,000 multicultural Korean-Vietnamese families in Korea, saying that the two nations are “connected like 'two in-laws' through bonds of marriage.”

“People-to-people exchanges are so vibrant that stories like this have become common,” he said. Such relations, he said, “form a strong bridge connecting the two countries. They are reliable 'civilian diplomats' who promote the development of bilateral relations.”

Yonhap