South Korea and Vietnam target $150bn trade by 2030 amid U.S. tariff tensions

South Korea and Vietnam have pledged to boost annual trade to $150 billion by 2030, signing 10 cooperation deals as new U.S. tariffs disrupt global supply chains.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary To Lam in Seoul on Monday, marking his first state guest since taking office in June. The two leaders avoided public mention of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new levies — 15% on South Korean exports to the U.S. and 20% on Vietnamese goods — but emphasised the need to safeguard bilateral trade and investment.

Vietnam’s trade with South Korea was worth about $86.8 billion in 2024, official figures show. Lam said he welcomed further South Korean investment, noting that some 10,000 Korean companies are already operating in Vietnam. Lee said those firms “contribute to Vietnam’s economic development and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.”

The governments signed 10 memoranda of understanding covering nuclear and renewable energy, finance, science and technology, and infrastructure such as high-speed rail. Lam, addressing Yonsei University in Seoul, urged South Korean firms to expand their presence in Vietnam and warned of the risks from fragmenting supply chains.

He called for joint development of semiconductors and new materials, and for South Korea to help train Vietnamese workers in sectors including artificial intelligence, biotechnology and shipbuilding.

Major South Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, have long used Vietnam as a manufacturing and export hub, benefiting from lower labour costs, tax incentives and Hanoi’s network of free trade agreements. Potential areas for future investment include nuclear energy, LNG power plants and high-speed rail projects, Vietnamese officials said.

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