Visits to the nation by leaders of Laos, the Republic of Korea and Japan in 2020 have demonstrated a safe Vietnam in effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After recent merger and acquisition (M&A) deals, South Korea-owned securities firms are expanding their influence on the Vietnamese stock market.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) poured about 8.2 million USD into Vietnam’s education sector during the first 11 months of this year, accounting for 57 percent of the country’s total FDI in the field.

Twenty Vietnamese students living in a college dormitory in a central South Korean city have been diagnosed with COVID-19, local officials said Wednesday, reporting a rare coronavirus cluster of foreign nationals here.

Prioritized groups of experts, investors and businesspeople from South Korea or Vietnam entering either one of the two countries on short-term visits will not have to undergo concentrated quarantine from January 1 next year, 

Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have mutually agreed to implement an expedited arrival procedure which will allow certain groups involved in short-term visits between the two sides 

Mekong countries and the Republic of Korea (RoK) on November 13 agreed to lift bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea (RoK) was officially opened in central Da Nang city on November 6.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan held talks with Speaker of the NA of the Republic of Korea Park Byeong-seug in Hanoi on November 2, expressing the willingness to work with the RoK side to foster the countries’ strategic cooperative partnership.

Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre Lee Hyuk has highlighted the significance of the upcoming visit to Vietnam by Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Park Byeong-seug, from October 31 to November 4.

Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Park Byeong-seug and his spouse will pay an official visit to Vietnam from October 31 to November 4.

Kim Hyun-tae from the Republic of Korea (RoK) will take up the position of goalkeeper coach with Vietnam’s young national football teams, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) revealed on October 23.

More than 1,400 Vietnamese guest workers in South Korea are set to lose their deposit of VND100 million (US$4,239) each due to fleeing from their workplace or attempting to illegally stay in the country.

As many as 1,750 Vietnamese workers are illegally staying in South Korea after the expiry of their labour contracts, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on September 18 proposed pushing ahead with the resumption of visits by leaders of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea and effectively maintaining dialogues in flexible forms.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the Republic of Korea (RoK) to reduce, remove binding conditions for official development assistance loans, concessional loans, and expand non-refundable aid to Vietnam.

The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs has sent letters to city and provincial People’s Committees to guide signing and implementing agreements with South Korean localities on sending Vietnamese workers there for seasonal work.

The HCM City People’s Procuracy announced on August 11 that it has approved decisions on commencing criminal proceedings against and arresting a Korean man and a Vietnamese woman on charges of “swindling to appropriate assets.”

The Korean Cultural Centre in Vietnam will launch the K-pop Cover Video Contest 2020, an online competition, to promote cultural exchanges between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea.

HCM City-based South Korean violist Jmi Ko has recently released a music video online after its premiere was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to spread optimism during the virus outbreak.