Việt Nam becomes RoK’s key export market in ASEAN

Việt Nam becomes RoK’s key export market in ASEAN

Việt Nam has emerged as the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) key export market in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as the East Asian country seeks to diversify trade and reduce its reliance on the US and China amid global volatility.

At a session of the Việt Nam-RoK Joint Committee on Trade, Industry and Energy Co0operation in April, 2025 in Hà Nội. Photo nhandan.vn

Việt Nam has emerged as the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) key export market in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as the East Asian country seeks to diversify trade and reduce its reliance on the US and China amid global volatility.

The RoK’s exports to Việt Nam rose 7.6 per cent in 2025 from a year earlier to US$62.8 billion, while imports from Việt Nam climbed 11.7 per cent to $31.8 billion, according to data released by the RoK’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

That lifted two-way trade to $94.5 billion, up 9 per cent from $86.8 billion. The total equals about 35 per cent of the RoK’s trade with top partner mainland China ($272.7 billion) and 48 per cent of that with the US ($196.2 billion).

By export growth, Việt Nam ranked second among the RoK’s markets at 7.6 per cent, trailing only Taiwan (China), where demand surged for artificial intelligence chips.

The RoK posted a $31 billion trade surplus with Việt Nam in 2025, up $1.1 billion from $29.9 billion a year earlier. The result made Việt Nam the RoK’s second-largest source of trade surplus, after the US.

Việt Nam topped the list in 2022 and has held second place for the past three years. The main driver has been a rebound in semiconductors. Fuelled by AI and global data-centre investment, chips - the RoK’s flagship export - hit a record $173.4 billion in revenue.

In Việt Nam, semiconductors were also the largest export, with a turnover of $24.7 billion in 2025, a 36.7 per cent jump from a year earlier.

Since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992, bilateral trade has surged 190-fold from $500 million, expanding from labour-intensive goods such as textiles to higher value-added products, including semiconductors and wireless communications equipment.

Trade has tripled since the Việt Nam–RoK Free Trade Agreement took effect in 2014, lifting Việt Nam from the RoK’s eighth-largest partner to third.

The trade structure is largely complementary. The RoK invests in Việt Nam and exports intermediate goods to factories here, with Việt Nam shipping finished products back. Samsung Electronics produces more than 50 per cent of its global smartphone output in Việt Nam and accounts for about 20 per cent of the country’s total exports. The company has continued to expand its footprint, opening a large R&D centre in Hà Nội in 2022. Exports of K-beauty and K-food products have also posted strong growth, supported by the global reach of the Korean Wave.

On the other side, the RoK plays a key role in Việt Nam’s economy. Việt Namese customs data show that in the first 11 months of 2025, the RoK was Việt Nam’s second-largest import market and fourth-largest export destination. 

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