The bilateral export turnover reached $22.5 billion, up 13.4 per cent on year, while import value was $58 billion, up 15 per cent.

The trade gap for the first eleven months was $35.5 billion, according to the statistics published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. With this, South Korea becomes the third-largest trading partner of Vietnam, following the United States and China.

The two countries expect that the trade turnover between Vietnam and Korea will reach $90 billion for the whole year.

Computers, mobile phones, spare parts, and related component rank at the top of groups with billion-dollar export value.

Samsung is the largest exporter in Vietnam, reporting a growth of 6 per cent in business and production results in the first half of this year. The rate is expected to increase to 10 per cent for the whole year.

The consecutive expansion of South Korean manufacturers in Vietnam will be the foundation to foster the export value. In the first eleven months of this year, the nation ranked third in investing in Vietnam with over $4.1 billion, or 16.4 per cent.

The East Asian nation is one of the few countries that has signed many bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with Vietnam, such as the ASEAN-RoK FTA; Korea-Vietnam FTA; and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Bilateral export-import turnover has seen consecutive increases after the Korea-Vietnam FTA came into effect in 2015.

The two countries expect to reach a $100 billion trade turnover in 2023 and $150 billion in 2030.