According to the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Vietnam is currently its fourth largest trading partner.
Vietnam-ROK trade has increased by more than 130 times from US$500 million in 1992, when the two countries established diplomatic relations, to the current US$68.3 billion.
It is notable that bilateral trade has doubled in the two years after two countries signed a free trade agreement, indicating that the removal of tariffs has positive impacts on both countries’ trading activities.
Investment cooperation between Vietnam and the ROK has also grown strongly, with the ROK currently the largest foreign investor in Vietnam at US$64.5 billion, which is expected to continue to rise in the years to come.
According to Nguyen Thi Huyen Ngoc at the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the strengths of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea are supplementary.
With a population of more than 96 million and annual economic growth of 7%, Vietnam is a consumption market with great potential.
Furthermore, what makes Vietnam attractive to foreign investors is a favourable environment for export activities through a wide variety of bilateral and multi-lateral free trade agreements.
