Two-way trade between Vietnam and Korea Republic in 2022 reached nearly USD 87 billion, an increase of nearly USD 9 billion from last year's USD 78.1 billion, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This import-export figure is USD 1 billion lower than the recent announcement by the Korea Republic's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

In which, exports to this market reached USD 24.2 billion, an increase of 10.2%, imports reached USD 62.5 billion, an increase of 11% over the same period, Vietnam continued to have a trade deficit of USD 38.3 billion with South Korea.

Vietnam exports to Korea many strong commodity groups such as agricultural and aquatic products, products of the processing and manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, Korea Republic continues to be one of the three largest foreign investors in Vietnam. Korea Republic has become Vietnam's fourth largest export market, after the US, EU, and China.

Vietnam is implementing three free trade agreements (FTAs) with Korea Republic, which is a significant boost for Vietnamese goods to accelerate their penetration into the Korean Republic market and take advantage of tariff preferences. In particular, the most significant is the Vietnam - Korea FTA (VKFTA) which took effect from the end of 2015 which is creating significant advantages for import and export activities, taking advantage of the tariff preferences of businesses of the two countries.

After more than 6 years of implementing VKFTA, two-way trade between Vietnam and Korea Republic has continuously recorded strong growth. Statistics from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea show that two-way trade between Vietnam and Korea Republic in 2022 reached more than USD 87.7 billion and this year's target is USD 100 billion.

This is the first time Vietnam has become Korea Republic's largest trade surplus partner by year.

According to MOTIE, among ASEAN countries, Vietnam is emerging as a production base for global companies. The fact that Vietnam has become Korea Republic's largest trade surplus partner is the result of Korean businesses constantly penetrating the Vietnamese market and the two countries have become close economic partners.

After Vietnam, the countries and territories where Korea Republic recorded a large trade surplus are the US with a surplus of USD 28.04 billion, Hong Kong (China) with USD 25.79 billion, India with USD 9.98 billion and Singapore with USD 9.86 billion.

Korea Republic is also the largest foreign investment partner in Vietnam in terms of both registered capital and investment projects with nearly 9,500 projects and more than USD 80 billion. In the first 11 months of 2022, Korea Republic continued to invest in Vietnam with more than 370 projects, total investment capital of more than USD 4 billion.

Kylie Nguyen