Vietnam and South Korea continue cooperating in coronavirus response, including relaxing coronavirus quarantine, to enhance economic ties amid the severe global health crisis.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho in Hanoi on December 4. Photo: Baoquocte

The two countries have facilitated business travelers to resume as much as possible economic activities in the course that huge investment and trade inflows from South Korea are coming to Vietnam.

As of end-2019, South Korea topped 132 countries and territories pouring money into Vietnam with US$66.6 billion.

In terms of trade, Vietnam is a major trading partner of South Korea. In 2019, the two-way trade recorded US$69.2 billion, up 15.9% on-year.

Since Hanoi took border control measures in March to stem the virus spread, the government of Vietnam has allowed about 18,000 business people from South Korea to enter the country via special flights approved by the Vietnamese authorities.

In September, the first commercial international flight to Vietnam was from South Korea after the country halted all international flights since March.

The flights were operated shortly after South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha visited Hanoi, making her the first foreign minister to visit Vietnam since the pandemic started earlier this year.

South Korean businesspeople support the Covid-19 battle in Vietnam. Photo: Daidoanket

In November, South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug picked Vietnam for his first foreign trip since taking office in June, with a focus on economic relations.

In a latest move, Vietnam has decided to exempt coronavirus quarantine to business people and their families from South Korea.

South Korea is the second country benefiting special entry procedure system after Japan.

The exemption, which will take effect on January 1, 2021, was included in an agreement reached at a meeting in Hanoi last week between Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho, according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The exemption will be applied for business travelers in a less-than-14 day trip, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The visitors are required to submit negative Covid-19 test results certificates that were issued within five days before their departure, to undergo virus tests upon arrival in Vietnam, and to follow strict quarantine guidelines set by the Vietnamese authorities during their stay.