National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man arrives in Seoul for official South Korea visit

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man arrived in Seoul on Sept. 6 with his wife, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, and a high-level Vietnamese delegation, beginning an official visit to South Korea at the invitation of South Korean National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong Sik and his wife.

Moon Jin Seok, chairman of the South Korea-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group, Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Vu Ho, embassy officials and members of the Vietnamese community welcomed the delegation at Seongnam Airport.

The visit marks Tran’s first official trip to South Korea since becoming head of Vietnam’s legislature. It is also the first visit by a Vietnamese National Assembly chairman to South Korea in five years. Vietnam and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992 and upgraded them to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022.

Cooperation between the two legislatures has expanded, including regular talks, exchanges of delegations and experience, and mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on parliamentary cooperation in November 2025.

South Korea is Vietnam’s second-largest investment partner, second-largest source of tourists and ODA provider, third-largest trading partner and third-largest market for Vietnamese workers. Bilateral trade reached $89.5 billion in 2025, up 9.6% from 2024. Trade in the first seven months of 2026 totaled $70 billion, a 41% increase from the same period in 2025. The visit is intended to translate high-level commitments into cooperation in newer fields, including strategic technology and renewable energy.