Seoul: Vice Trade Minister Park Jung-sung met with Vietnam's vice finance minister in Seoul on Thursday to discuss ways to resolve difficulties Korean companies are facing in Vietnam, Park's office said. In the meeting with Tran Quoc Phuong, Park called for Vietnam's efforts to devise solutions to the challenges faced by Korean companies operating in the Southeast Asian country, such as delayed refunds of value-added tax and a continued decline in electricity sales by renewable energy firms.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources reported that the two sides also discussed expanding bilateral economic cooperation, including Korean companies' participation in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project in Vietnam. Park noted that Korean firms' investment in Vietnam has doubled from a year earlier to US$3.08 billion as of end-June, despite the rapidly changing global trade environment.

In August, the two countries agreed to step up efforts to boost their bilateral trade volume to $150 billion by 2030 in a Seoul summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Vietnam's top leader To Lam.