200 South Korean businesses seek Ho Chi Minh City partners for AI, green tech

The HCMC K-Brand Expo 2026, an annual trade fair showcasing South Korean products and technology, opened in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday and will run through August 29, drawing nearly 200 companies and organizations from 18 key industrial cities in South Korea.

The three-day expo is jointly organized by South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), which oversees small business and startup policy; the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, a municipal government agency; the Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (JBCCEI), a state-backed innovation hub in South Korea's Jeonbuk province; the Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB), Ho Chi Minh City's startup support center; and the Korea-Vietnam Trade Promotion Center.

Tech booths make up over 40 percent of exhibitors

According to organizers, sectors including AI, data and smart safety, healthcare, energy, environment and agriculture, smart transportation, manufacturing, construction, education and tourism accounted for more than 40 percent of all booths at the expo.

This year's program focuses on trade, investment, innovation and human resource development, while also connecting startups with investment funds.

A highlight is InnoStar 2026, a program for Vietnamese and South Korean students featuring hackathons, bootcamps, mentoring sessions and market research. 

Students from both countries will form joint teams to develop business ideas and models. More than 30 South Korean organizations are taking part in this year's edition, including Technopark high-tech zones, innovation economy centers, startup support centers, universities and business associations.

Over four editions held from 2022 to 2025, the program has drawn more than 700 South Korean startups and companies, attracted over 30,600 visitors, facilitated more than 5,020 business matching sessions, and produced roughly 800 memorandums of understanding between Vietnamese and South Korean companies and startups.

Ho Chi Minh City aims to become a high-tech hub

Tran Trong Tuyen, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, said the city is shifting its focus toward attracting investment in high-tech industries, AI and green transition solutions.

Ho Chi Minh City is home to more than 50 percent of Vietnam's startups, over 60 percent of the country's venture capital funds and more than 40 percent of its incubation infrastructure, Tuyen said. The city also draws on a talent pool supplemented by more than 50 universities.

The Department of Science and Technology will serve as the main point of contact to help South Korean businesses and startups find partners in Vietnam, as well as to support incubation, testing and development of technology solutions, he said. 

The city also aims to support research and development, technology transfer and innovation cooperation between the two countries.

"The doors of Ho Chi Minh City's innovative startup ecosystem are always open to our Korean friends," Tuyen said.

Ryu Seung Ho, consul in charge of small and medium-sized enterprises at the South Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, said Vietnam offers growing opportunities for South Korean businesses to expand cooperation.

He said South Korean firms value the openness of young Vietnamese consumers to new technology, along with a trend of Vietnamese founders looking toward international markets and companies actively seeking new business opportunities.

South Korea aims to raise bilateral trade with Vietnam to US$150 billion by 2030. Achieving that target will require businesses and startups from both countries to play a direct role in shaping new contracts, projects and markets, Ryu said.

The South Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said it would continue to help South Korean businesses study the Vietnamese market and build partnerships with local companies.