VIETNAM BECOMES SOUTH KOREA’S TOP EXPORT MARKET IN ASEAN

Shipping containers are seen at Busan Port in South Korea - PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – South Korea’s exports to Vietnam reached US$62.8 billion in 2025, up 7.6% from a year earlier, making Vietnam its most important export market in ASEAN, the Vietnam News Agency reported, citing South Korean trade data.

South Korea’s imports from Vietnam also rose strongly, climbing 11.7% to US$31.8 billion, according to figures released on January 26 by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of South Korea and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

Total two-way trade increased 9% to US$94.5 billion, from US$86.8 billion in 2024. The value was equal to about 35% of South Korea’s trade with China, its largest partner, and 48% of its trade with the United States.

By export growth rate, Vietnam ranked second among South Korea’s major markets, behind Taiwan (China), where demand surged due to artificial intelligence-related chip consumption.

South Korea posted a trade surplus of US$31 billion with Vietnam in 2025, up from US$29.9 billion in 2024. Vietnam was the second-largest contributor to South Korea’s trade surplus, after the United States.

Vietnam ranked first in 2022 and has held second place for the past three years. Growth has been driven mainly by semiconductors, South Korea’s key export, which reached a record US$173.4 billion globally in 2025 amid rising demand linked to AI and data centers.

In Vietnam, semiconductors were South Korea’s largest export item, totaling US$24.7 billion in 2025, up 36.7% year-on-year.

Vietnam is a core market within ASEAN for South Korea to diversify trade, a MOTIE representative was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as saying. The South Korean government pledged continued support to expand bilateral trade in semiconductors and consumer goods.

Since diplomatic ties were established in 1992, bilateral trade has expanded nearly 190 times from US$500 million. Trade has shifted from labor-intensive goods such as textiles to higher value-added products, including semiconductors and wireless communication equipment.

After the Vietnam–Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) took effect in December 2015, bilateral trade tripled, lifting Vietnam from South Korea’s eighth-largest trading partner to third.

Trade ties are structured around complementary production. South Korean companies invest in Vietnam, export intermediate goods to local factories, and Vietnam exports finished products back to South Korea. More than half of the smartphones Samsung makes globally come from Vietnam.

Samsung is Vietnam’s largest foreign investor and accounts for about one-fifth of the country’s total exports. The group opened a large research and development center in Hanoi City in 2022.

Exports of South Korean beauty and food products to Vietnam have also risen, supported by Korean pop culture.

From Vietnam’s perspective, South Korea remains a key partner. Data from the Department of Vietnam Customs showed South Korea was Vietnam’s second-largest import market and fourth-largest export destination in the first 11 months of 2025.

Source: The Saigon Times