From September 6 to 9, 2026, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang joined the Viet Nam high-level delegation accompanying National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man on an official visit to the RoK, at the invitation of RoK National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong Sik.

This marks the first visit to the RoK by Chairman Tran Thanh Man in his capacity as head of Viet Nam's legislature, and the first visit by a Vietnamese NA Chairman to the RoK in five years. Notably, Chairman Tran Thanh Man is the first foreign guest received by new RoK National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong Sik.

During the visit, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang took part in and accompanied the NA Chairman in a range of important activities, including a working visit to the Viet Nam Embassy in the RoK, a meeting with the Vietnamese community in the RoK, a reception for the Network of Young Vietnamese Innovation and Knowledge Experts in Korea, and meetings with major RoK corporations such as Samsung, SK, Lotte, and LG.

At the high-level talks, the two sides affirmed their commitment to effectively implementing the outcomes achieved during the August 2025 visit to the RoK by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, and the April 2026 visit to Viet Nam by RoK President Lee Jae Myung. The two sides agreed to boost economic, trade and investment cooperation, aiming to raise two-way trade turnover to USD 150 billion by 2030 in a more balanced direction.

On the afternoon of September 8, in Seoul, Chairman Tran Thanh Man received leaders of several leading RoK corporations: Roh Tae Moon, Senior Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics; Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the SK Group; Moon Hyuk-soo, CEO of LG Innotek; and Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of the Lotte Group.

Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang accompanied the NA Chairman at these meetings, helping to foster direct exchanges with the RoK business community, particularly in fields under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade such as trade, industry, energy and supply chain development.

Through these meetings, Viet Nam reaffirmed its policy of selectively attracting foreign investment, prioritizing high-tech, knowledge-intensive and high-value-added projects that are environmentally friendly and capable of connecting with, and helping, Vietnamese enterprises engage more deeply in global value chains.

At the same time, Viet Nam affirmed its readiness to listen to and take on board legitimate proposals and recommendations from RoK businesses, while continuing to improve institutions and policies to make them more stable, transparent, favorable and predictable, thereby creating a favorable investment and business environment for RoK enterprises to expand their long-term operations in Viet Nam.

In addition, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang also accompanied Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung in bilateral activities to promote cooperation in science, technology and innovation, particularly in artificial intelligence, with research and business partners from both sides, including the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, RoK's SK Group and Viet Nam's FPT.

Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang's participation in, and accompaniment of, senior leaders at the above activities further affirmed the active and proactive role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in carrying out high-level external relations tasks, helping to translate political commitments into practical cooperation and contributing to the overall success of the NA Chairman's official visit to the RoK.