Ho Chi Minh City seeks stronger tech, smart city cooperation with S.Korea’s Daejeon

The proposal was made during a meeting on Tuesday between Nguyen Van Tho, standing deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council, and Hwang Kyoungah, vice-chairman of the Daejeon Metropolitan City Council, who is leading a delegation on a working visit to the southern Vietnamese metropolis.

Tho said the visit marked the first exchange activity by a South Korean locality in Ho Chi Minh City in 2026 and is expected to open up new opportunities for ties between the two cities.

He noted that the relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and Daejeon have been maintained through regular delegation exchanges in recent years.

Following a merger with the former Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau Provinces in July 2025, Ho Chi Minh City now forms a development hub combining three major growth poles.

They include the central urban area focusing on services, international finance, and high technology, while Binh Duong serves as a hub for high-tech industry and Ba Ria–Vung Tau acts as a center for the maritime economy, coastal tourism, energy, and logistics.

After the merger, the city’s economy has reached more than US$120 billion, contributing over 30 percent of the country’s total state budget revenue, Tho said.

He expressed hope that Daejeon will share experience in science and technology development, particularly the Daedeok Innopolis high-tech innovation cluster model.

Tho also called for stronger connections between Ho Chi Minh City’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park and research institutes and technology enterprises in Daejeon.

The city is seeking to expand cooperation with major universities in Daejeon, such as Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Chungnam National University, to train high-quality human resources, particularly in artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, and new energy technologies.

The two cities could also share experience in smart city development, including urban data management, intelligent transportation systems, e-government, and smart city operation centers.

Beyond these areas, South Korea has long been one of Ho Chi Minh City’s most important economic partners, Tho said.

The country is currently the second-largest investor in the city with more than 3,300 active projects and a total accumulated foreign direct investment of about $15.7 billion.

Two-way trade between the two sides reached around $6.4 billion in 2025.

More than 2,000 South Korean businesses and about 80,000 South Korean residents living and working in Ho Chi Minh City have also contributed significantly to the city’s socio-economic development, he added.

Speaking at the meeting, Hwang thanked Ho Chi Minh City leaders for their warm reception.

He said he felt a strong sense of familiarity upon arriving in the Vietnamese city, describing the experience as ‘like coming home.’

The two cities had previously signed cooperation agreements and have gradually implemented the agreed areas of cooperation, he said.

Hwang added that the visit aims to further strengthen ties and explore new opportunities between the two localities.

He noted that Daejeon is one of South Korea’s major science and technology centers with a dynamic economy, pointing to potential expanded cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City in economic, industrial, and technological sectors.

Hwang expressed hope that enterprises from both sides will strengthen links and promote concrete cooperation projects in the coming period.

Emphasizing that economic development should go hand in hand with social progress, he said the two localities could share experience in promoting growth alongside sustainable social development.

He affirmed that Daejeon authorities will continue efforts to elevate the relation between the two cities in the future.