The event was jointly organised by the Trade Promotion Agency, the Department of Industry, and the Institute for Industry and Trade Strategy and Policy Research (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade), in collaboration with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and VINEXAD Advertising and Trade Fair JSC. It took place within the framework of Viet Nam Expo 2026 in both in-person and online formats.
In recent years, economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK has continued to strengthen and expand. The RoK is currently one of Viet Nam’s largest foreign investors, particularly in manufacturing and supporting industries.
Speaking at the dialogue, Vu Ba Phu, Director General of the Trade Promotion Agency, stated that as of the end of February 2026, the RoK remained the largest foreign investor in Viet Nam, with total registered capital exceeding 95.2 billion USD, accounting for approximately 18% of total investment. In the first two months of 2026 alone, the RoK investment in Viet Nam reached nearly 2 billion USD, representing 32.7% of total newly registered capital.
According to Phu, the manufacturing and processing sector continues to dominate the RoK investment flows, accounting for over 73% of total registered capital. Numerous large-scale and high-tech projects have contributed to technology transfer, enhanced management capacity and improved quality standards, while also fostering industrial clusters and supporting industry ecosystems in key localities such as Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Hai Phong, Hung Yen and Ho Chi Minh City.
“Through investment projects and production activities, Korean enterprises have made significant contributions to improving Viet Nam’s capacity in component manufacturing and promoting technology transfer within the industrial sector,” Phu emphasised.
In the context of a global automotive industry undergoing rapid transformation towards green, electric and smart technologies, Phu stressed that strengthening supply chain linkages, promoting research and development, fostering technological innovation, and developing high-quality human resources are key to enhancing the sector’s competitiveness.
“We expect that through this dialogue, stakeholders will promote stronger connections between Vietnamese and Korean enterprises in the automotive parts supply chain, encourage investment in research, development and technology transfer, and continue improving policies towards greater transparency, stability and convenience for investment and business operations,” he added.
A highlight of the programme was the introduction of the Automotive Parts Value Chain Mapping Project, a collaborative initiative among KOTRA, the Trade Promotion Agency and the Department of Industry. The project aims to systematise enterprise information across each stage of the supply chain, clarify the level of participation at each link, and thereby help identify bottlenecks and gaps while proposing more effective development solutions.
At the dialogue, Koo Bon-kyung, Regional Director General for Southeast Asia & Oceania at KOTRA, noted that Viet Nam’s automotive market has been experiencing impressive growth. He stated that vehicle sales in Viet Nam had increased by more than 10% year-on-year up to 2025, alongside the rise of domestic companies such as VinFast and the expansion of global manufacturers including Hyundai-Kia and Toyota.
According to Koo, the dialogue would analyse the current state of Viet Nam’s automotive value chain and discuss necessary policy support for developing the domestic components industry, as well as cooperation models between enterprises of the two countries.
He also noted that KOTRA and the Trade Promotion Agency have jointly implemented the Korea Desk initiative since 2019 to support business connectivity. Through this mechanism, research findings on supply chains in key industries, including automotive, will continue to be shared to promote deeper participation of Korean component manufacturers in Viet Nam’s production ecosystem.
Through the dialogue, participants expressed expectations of opening up new opportunities for cooperation in automotive component manufacturing, precision engineering, industrial materials, and automotive electrical and electronic systems. At the same time, it aims to promote collaboration models such as local supplier development, production linkages and technology transfer.
The event is expected to strengthen supply chain linkages between Vietnamese and Korean enterprises, enhance domestic production capacity, and thereby promote the development of supporting industries while gradually increasing the localisation rate of Viet Nam’s automotive industry in the coming years.
