Vietnam is the third-largest trading partner of the Republic of Korea in 2024. (Photo: VNA)

Seoul – Vietnam continued solidifying its position as the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s third-largest trading partner in 2024, trailing only China and the US, marking the third consecutive year of the significant trade relationship.

According to statistics released on January 6 by the RoK’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the country’s export hit a record high of 683.8 billion USD, with shipment to Vietnam rising 9.1% year-on-year to 58.3 billion USD while import growing 9.6% to 28.4 billion USD.

Two-way trade between the two countries rose 9.2% to 86.7 billion USD last year, positioning Vietnam behind China (272.9 billion USD) and the US (199.9 billion USD).

The RoK enjoyed a trade surplus of 29.9 billion USD with Vietnam in 2024, an increase of 2.3 billion USD from the previous year, marking the second-largest amount after that of 55.7 billion recorded with the US.

Korean agencies’ analysis showed that the surge in trade with Vietnam was driven by a robust recovery in semiconductor export which suffered a stagnation in 2023. The RoK’s semiconductor shipment enjoyed a remarkable growth of 43.9%, reaching 129.2 billion USD in 2024.

Semiconductors were the country's largest export item to Vietnam, with shipment reaching 16.5 billion USD in January - November of 2024, a year-on-year rise of 46.3%. Besides, wireless communication equipment export went up 16.9% to 2.3 billion USD, while synthetic resin exports grew 18% to 2.1 billion USD.

Trade between the two countries has flourished since they established their diplomatic ties in 1992, with trade volume expanding more than 150-fold from an initial 500 million USD after more than 30 years. The trade structure has evolved from labour-intensive products like textiles to high-value-added items such as semiconductors and wireless communication devices.

Notably, the implementation of the Vietnam – Korea free trade agreement in 2014 has more than doubled their trade volume from 30 billion USD to 80 billion USD.

In the tourism sector, the RoK emerged as the leading source of international visitors to Vietnam, with 4.1 million tourists accounting for 25% of Vietnam's total foreign arrivals, significantly outpacing mainland China's 3.35 million visitors, and the US’s 700,000 travellers.

KITA Senior Researcher Hong Ji-sang highlighted ASEAN’s growing importance as an alternative to the RoK’s heavy reliance on trade with China and the US, stating Vietnam stands out as a crucial ASEAN partner and the two countries are developing their cooperation in a new period based on mutual trust./.