A Vietnamese business delegation is visiting Busan to explore entry into the Korean market. The Busan Economic Promotion Agency (BEPA) hosted an export consultation meeting in Vietnam last October and reached an agreement with the Consul General of Vietnam in Busan in November on a joint business plan for 2026. This forum is expected to yield results from a year of collaborative groundwork.
On May 17, the Overseas Market Development Bureau of Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that it will send a business delegation to Busan and southern Korea from May 19 to 22 to promote trade. This visit is part of the 2026 trade promotion program, aimed at identifying import demand and growth potential in Busan and southern Korea, understanding product quality standards, packaging, and distribution systems, and detailing strategies for promising export items such as agricultural products, processed foods, furniture, household goods, and OEM cooperation.
Vietnamese companies plan to introduce their products and explore trading possibilities by meeting directly with local import partners at the 'Vietnam-Korea Business Networking Workshop' in Busan.
◆ Meeting Between Consul General and BEPA Director in November 2022: Agreement on Joint Business Plans for 2026
This forum is a continuation of the cooperation established over the past year. On November 17, 2022, Consul General Doan Phuong Lan met with BEPA Director Song Bok-cheol in Busan to discuss future cooperation directions. Lan highlighted Vietnam's economic development status, market potential, and prospects for collaboration between Vietnamese local governments and Busan, officially proposing the dispatch of reciprocal trade promotion delegations, investment attraction, technology cooperation, and expansion of startup collaboration.
In response, Director Song praised Vietnam's development potential and the possibilities for Korea-Vietnam economic, trade, and investment cooperation, expressing BEPA's commitment to actively support trade and investment promotion events and assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups. He also shared the results of BEPA's ongoing trade promotion programs in the Vietnamese market during the meeting. BEPA is a nonprofit organization jointly established by the city of Busan and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups of Korea.
Additionally, in October 2022, BEPA dispatched a trade delegation consisting of 10 local SMEs to Vietnam using the Busan Economic Revitalization Support Fund (BEF). Vietnam is Busan's fourth-largest export destination, accounting for approximately 6.9% of the city's total exports.
To support the somewhat sluggish recovery of exports to Vietnam, BEPA held export consultation meetings in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the economic centers of Vietnam. Through pre-matching, 60 local buyers were selected for consultations on various products, including cosmetics, health supplements, industrial welding machines, and dental implants, resulting in a total consultation performance of $12 million (approximately 18 billion won) and contract negotiations worth $8 million (approximately 12 billion won).
The trade volume between the two countries is rapidly growing. As of last year, the trade volume exceeded $90 billion, and from January to April this year, trade reached $37.2 billion, continuing a strong growth trend. Exports to Korea amounted to $11.1 billion, a 22.9% increase compared to the same period last year, while imports rose to $26.1 billion, up 40.8%. As of the end of March this year, Korea's cumulative registered investment in Vietnam was approximately $99 billion, with 10,450 active projects, accounting for 23% of all projects and 18% of total foreign direct investment (FDI).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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