On May 21, 2026, in Busan, the Republic of Korea, the Vietnam Trade Office in the Republic of Korea, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Market Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Consulate General of Vietnam in Busan, held a programme themed “Vietnam and the Republic of Korea cooperate for development in a new context.”

Attending the event on the Vietnamese side were Doan Phuong Lan, Consul General of Vietnam in Busan; Nguyen Duy Kien, representative of the Department of Foreign Market Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade; Pham Khac Tuyen, Vietnam’s Trade Counsellor in the Republic of Korea; along with experts and representatives from the Vietnamese business community.

On the Korean side, participants included lawmaker Kim Dae Sik, member of the Budget Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, as well as representatives from major enterprises such as Yulchon LLC, Kangnam Corporation, Megazone Cloud and Zenith Group.

The event took place amid growing geopolitical uncertainties and disruptions to global supply chains, requiring regional linkages to be upgraded more strongly, with sustainability serving as the overarching goal and science and technology acting as the core driving force.

Discussion sessions and presentations delivered by delegates provided a comprehensive overview and practical solutions for businesses from both countries.

Within the framework of the programme, delegates were updated on the latest policies by representatives from Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and Yulchon LLC, helping enterprises shape safe and effective investment strategies.

Also during the programme, in a presentation on key industries and infrastructure, representatives of Kangnam Corporation shared insights into the shipbuilding industry, a major strength of Busan, combined with seaport logistics solutions and cloud computing services provided by Megazone Cloud to promote digital transformation and optimise bilateral supply chains.

At the forum, delegates highly appreciated the strategic role of Busan, the Republic of Korea’s largest port city and an important global logistics gateway, as well as the extensive cooperation potential of the southeastern region of the Republic of Korea, known as the country’s industrial hub.

With outstanding strengths in traditional industries such as shipbuilding, mechanical engineering and maritime services, combined with strong orientations toward the digital economy, smart cities and green energy development, Busan and the southeastern region of the Republic of Korea possess enormous cooperation potential and high complementarity with Vietnam’s development goals in the new period.

At the programme, Doan Phuong Lan, Consul General of Vietnam in Busan, stressed that following the historic visits by the leaders of the two countries, including Party General Secretary To Lam’s visit to the Republic of Korea in August 2025 and President Lee Jae-myung’s visit to Vietnam in April 2026, Vietnam–the Republic of Korea economic relations are entering a new stage, evolving from trade to value chains, from traditional investment to high technology, and from bilateral cooperation to regional and global connectivity. Vietnam remains committed to institutional reforms, improving the investment environment, and always regards Korean enterprises as one of its leading development partners.

Built on more than three decades of deep mutual trust, Vietnam expects businesses in Busan and southern regions of the Republic of Korea to expand investment in strategic sectors such as high technology, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, clean energy and high-quality human resource development. Vietnam is committed to accompanying, supporting and creating the most favourable conditions for Korean enterprises to invest sustainably in the country.

Representatives from major corporations and enterprises in Busan and neighbouring southern regions of the Republic of Korea expressed optimism and highly valued Vietnam’s investment environment. They noted that Vietnam’s policy of attracting high-tech investment flows and accelerating national digital transformation is creating a highly attractive “second wave of opportunities.”

Many maritime and manufacturing enterprises in Busan expressed their desire to relocate and expand supply chains to Vietnam in order to optimise production costs and take advantage of Vietnam’s extensive network of free trade agreements.

Meanwhile, technology enterprises in the region also highly appreciated the quality and potential of Vietnam’s young digital workforce, considering it a key factor for jointly developing future technological solutions.

Notably, within the framework of the programme, an important milestone was marked with the signing ceremony of a consultancy contract on the design and operation of a platform between the Trade Office of the Embassy of Vietnam in the Republic of Korea and Zenith Group. The agreement is regarded as vivid proof of efforts to turn “digital trust” into concrete action, creating a modern and effective trade connectivity bridge for enterprises from both sides.