On August 26, in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung and RoK Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-kwan co-chaired the 15th session of the Viet Nam - RoK Joint Committee on Trade, Industry and Energy Cooperation and the 9th session of the Viet Nam - Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) Joint Committee.

Attending the sessions on the Vietnamese side were representatives of the leadership of relevant units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Embassy of Viet Nam in the RoK. On the Korean side were representatives of units under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, and the Embassy of the RoK in Viet Nam, together with a number of major energy enterprises from both countries.

The 15th session of the Viet Nam - RoK joint committee on trade, industry and energy cooperation

At the session, the two ministers expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the commitments made in the minutes of the 14th session of the Viet Nam - RoK Joint Committee on Trade, Industry and Energy Cooperation, and welcomed the positive developments in bilateral trade during the first seven months of 2026, which reached over USD 70 billion, up 41%.

Given the current context, the two ministers agreed that this is the time to strengthen cooperation in strategic and future-oriented fields such as advanced industry, digital economy, energy transition and human resource development, with a view to achieving sustainable and mutually beneficial growth that goes beyond simply expanding the scale of bilateral cooperation.

In that spirit, in trade cooperation, the two sides agreed to continue implementing the action plan to achieve the bilateral trade turnover target of USD 150 billion in a more balanced direction by 2030. Regarding Viet Nam's growing trade deficit with Korea in the first seven months of 2026, the two ministers agreed on a number of solutions to both achieve the bilateral trade target and promote more balanced trade relations, including: supporting Vietnamese enterprises in carrying out export promotion activities in the Korean market and expanding their presence in Korea's major distribution channels; strengthening cooperation in e-commerce to help competitive Vietnamese enterprises and products access the Korean market and boost exports through Korean e-commerce platforms; and encouraging Korean enterprises to invest and cooperate with Vietnamese enterprises in manufacturing products, components and equipment for Korean-invested projects in Viet Nam.

At the session, the two ministers also agreed to strengthen cooperation in distribution and logistics, intellectual property protection, the development of physical commodity markets and commodity derivatives markets, e-commerce, market access for agricultural products, resolving difficulties for enterprises, and competition management.

In the industrial sector, the two ministers reached consensus that Viet Nam will actively coordinate with Korea through appropriate policies and institutional measures to ensure human resources in the manufacturing sector. The two sides also agreed to promote linkages between Vietnamese and Korean enterprises through technology upgrading activities in supply chains.

Meanwhile, the Korean side expressed its wish to actively promote the transfer of untapped technologies to Vietnamese suppliers, coordinate with Korean enterprises operating in Viet Nam, and expand preferential mechanisms in the automotive sector. The Vietnamese side expressed a wish to strengthen cooperation in assessing the localization capacity of enterprises in Viet Nam's industrial sector, as well as cooperation in quality management and standardization.

In the energy sector, cooperation content on oil and gas, gas-fired power projects, power grid infrastructure and renewable energy, among others, as well as an exchange of views on each side's energy policies, were also discussed and agreed at the session. The Vietnamese side welcomed the participation of Korean enterprises in the energy sector in Viet Nam and affirmed its readiness to continue facilitating cooperation and investment activities by Korean enterprises in accordance with Vietnamese law, while encouraging relevant agencies and enterprises of both sides to maintain regular exchanges in order to promptly identify and address practical difficulties and obstacles arising during project implementation.

The 9th session of the Viet Nam - Korea free trade agreement joint committee

At the 9th session of the Viet Nam - Korea Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee, the two co-chairs welcomed the smooth implementation of the Viet Nam - Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) over the past 11 years and highly appreciated the role of the VKFTA as a solid institutional foundation supporting mutually beneficial growth and expanding trade and investment relations between the two countries amid a rapidly changing trade environment.

Since the VKFTA took effect in 2015, Viet Nam - Korea trade turnover has grown strongly and steadily year by year. By the end of 2025, total two-way trade turnover had increased 2.5-fold to reach USD 89.5 billion according to Vietnamese statistics and USD 94.6 billion according to Korean statistics. Continuing this growth momentum, two-way trade turnover between the two countries is expected to surpass USD 100 billion by the end of 2026. In this context, the two co-chairs reaffirmed their commitment to continued cooperation to achieve the bilateral trade turnover target of USD 150 billion by 2030.

The two co-chairs acknowledged the close coordination between officials of the two countries in supporting the full and effective implementation of the VKFTA, and reaffirmed the outcomes of the sub-committees on customs and rules of origin, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), and trade remedies held in 2025 and 2026. The two sides exchanged views and agreed on the direction for implementing cooperation content within the sub-committees in order to address difficulties and obstacles and create a favorable legal framework for implementing and making the most of the benefits brought by the VKFTA.

At the conclusion of the two sessions, the two ministers signed two documents, including: the minutes of the 15th session of the Viet Nam - RoK Joint Committee on Trade, Industry and Energy Cooperation; and the joint statement of the 9th session of the Viet Nam - Korea Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee.

At the end of the session, the two ministers witnessed the signing of a cooperation document between Korea National Oil Corporation and Petrovietnam Oil Stockpile Company Limited (PVOS).