National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man congratulated outgoing Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (RoK) to Vietnam Choi Young Sam on his successful tenure during a reception in Hanoi on June 18.
Chairman Man credited Choi with driving bilateral ties forward, pointing to expanded parliamentary and people-to-people exchanges that have added depth to the Vietnam-RoK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
He welcomed sweeping gains in the bilateral partnership. The RoK remains Vietnam’s largest foreign investor, with cumulative registered capital reaching 101 billion USD as of May. It ranks second in tourism cooperation, with more than 5 million mutual arrivals in 2025; and third in bilateral trade, which reached 89 billion USD in 2025. People-to-people exchanges have also been vibrant, with nearly 400,000 Vietnamese residing in the RoK and more than 200,000 Koreans living in Vietnam.
According to him, the two nations have seen important strides during Choi’s tenure, particularly in parliamentary diplomacy and cooperation between the two legislatures. Young parliamentarian exchanges have intensified, while the bilateral parliamentary friendship groups have run a range of activities, building greater political trust and tighter ties.
Vietnam attaches importance to its relations with the RoK and wishes to further drive substantive and all-round development, he said. He proposed deeper cooperation between specialised committees, parliamentary friendship groups, and women parliamentarians’ groups; a stronger role for the two NAs in advancing major agreements, commitments, and joint projects; and closer coordination and information sharing on parliamentary affairs.
He also affirmed that Vietnam will maintain a transparent and supportive legal environment for foreign investors, including those from the RoK, to do business over the long haul, while continuing to facilitate the Korean community living in the country.
The host believed that Choi will further contribute to more substantive, effective and comprehensive partnership in the future. On this occasion, he thanked Speaker of the RoK National Assembly Cho Jung-sik for his invitation to pay an official visit to the RoK to discuss ways to further boost bilateral cooperation, including parliamentary ties.
Choi, in reply, said he is pleased to have contributed to the partnership’s development during his tenure. He noted that high-level and working-level exchanges have been regular, while economic, trade and investment ties have expanded meaningfully beyond traditional sectors into sci-tech, digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
He thanked leaders of the Vietnamese NA and relevant agencies for their support, which enabled him and the embassy to successfully fulfill their duties. With continued parliamentary support from both sides, he said, bilateral ties will keep powering ahead, particularly in trade, investment, energy, sci-tech, and people-to-people links.
Regardless of his future position, he promised to draw on his Vietnam experience to keep fortifying the bond between the two countries and their legislatures, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the wider world./.
