South Korea, Vietnam Sign MOU to Expand Food and Drug Regulatory Cooperation

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said April 23 it signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s Ministry of Health on April 22 (local time) to strengthen cooperation on the safety of food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices.

The signing took place with President Lee Jae-myung and Vietnam’s Party chief and state president, To Lam, in attendance, the ministry said.

The MOU calls for exchanging information on laws, approvals, technology and supply chains, and for cooperation in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, digital technology and biohealth. It also includes steps to promote access to medical products and regulatory trust, and to hold high-level meetings.

MFDS Commissioner Oh Yu-kyoung met with Vietnamese Health Minister Dao Hong Lan and discussed the importance of safety cooperation and specific ways to work together, the ministry said.

The MFDS introduced South Korea’s food management systems, including HACCP and its SAFE-i 24 electronic import safety review platform. It also asked Vietnam to designate South Korea as a reference country to speed approvals of Korean pharmaceuticals recognized through the World Health Organization’s listing of the country as a stringent regulatory authority.

If South Korea is recognized as a reference country, the MFDS said, access could expand to Vietnam’s imported drug market worth about $4.3 billion (about 6.4 trillion won), with an expected annual increase of about 100 billion won in exports of Korean pharmaceuticals.

“This MOU will further maximize the outcomes of Korea-Vietnam summit diplomacy through cooperation in safety regulation for food and pharmaceuticals,” Oh said. “We will continue to actively support our companies’ overseas expansion based on regulatory cooperation.”



* This article has been translated by AI.

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