HCMC – Party General Secretary To Lam began a four-day state visit to South Korea today, August 10, at the invitation of President Lee Jae Myung, marking his first visit to the country since assuming the role of Vietnam’s Party chief.
The Vietnamese delegation includes Politburo members Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Phan Van Giang, Luong Tam Quang and Nguyen Van Nen, Party Central Committee secretary Le Hoai Trung, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, National Assembly Vice Chairman Le Minh Hoan, and ministers Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Nguyen Hong Dien, Nguyen Manh Hung, Nguyen Van Thang and Nguyen Van Hung.
During the visit, the two sides are expected to discuss strategic issues, set directions and measures to strengthen bilateral ties, and expand cooperation in potential sectors.
The trip comes as Vietnam is working on major national development plans, and reflects the country’s foreign policy of independence, diversification and active international integration. It is also part of efforts to implement Politburo Resolution No. 59 on international integration in the new context.
Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992, and upgraded them to a comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2022.
As of May 2025, South Korea remained Vietnam’s largest investor, with US$94 billion in registered capital across 10,203 projects, making up 23.5% of all projects and 18.1% of total registered foreign direct investment.
South Korea ranks as Vietnam’s second-largest development cooperation partner, pledging US$4 billion in aid by 2030. Two-way trade totaled US$81.5 billion in 2024, rising 7.3% from a year earlier. Vietnamese investment in South Korea stood at 112 projects worth US$37.4 million.
