Vietnam, S Korea are key R&D partners: President Yoon

Vietnam and South Korea have evolved from manufacturing cooperation partners to key research and development partners, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol said in Hanoi Saturday.

He highlighted the importance of the R&D partnership between the two countries while paying a visit to the Samsung Electronics R&D Center in Hanoi on the final day of his three-day state visit to Vietnam, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

Yoon also pledged to actively support the two countries' joint research to enable the creation of innovative values fusing the two countries' technologies, and expand the scale of programs strengthening the capabilities of future generations, Yonhap said.

Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong inaugurated the $220 million facility last December to make it the tech giant's largest R&D center in Southeast Asia.

Yoon met with around 50 young digital sector workers from the two countries at the facility, with Lee attending the meeting. They included employees from the center, Korean digital companies with a presence in Vietnam, Vietnamese digital companies with a presence in South Korea, as well as young workers in the industry from both countries.

He emphasized that the exchange of ideas and the joint exploration of advanced scientific technologies among young people from both nations would be crucial in building a stronger future for both countries.

Samsung Electronics produces more than half of its smartphones in Vietnam. The giant said last December that a total of 2,200 employees will work at the new 16-story R&D facility to research and develop software and technologies for mobile phones and other smart and network devices.

Before meeting with the employees, Yoon visited the booths of Vietnam's VKIST, an institute whose establishment was supported by South Korea’s government and Korea IT School.

VKIST is a science and technology research institute in Hanoi modeled after the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). That is why its name is VKIST.

Korea IT School is a program aimed at fostering software education among Vietnamese youth and facilitating the recruitment of talented individuals by local South Korean companies.

The program has since 2019 trained 208 individuals, with 172 of them securing internships at local Korean companies, the Korea Herald said.