The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the plan on July 7 following the K-Food ASEAN 2026 Fair, held in Hanoi on July 2-3. Vietnam is currently South Korea's fourth largest export market for agricultural and food products.
The ministry said demand for Korean food in Vietnam has continued to rise alongside the global popularity of Korean culture, positioning the country as a key gateway for expanding exports throughout Southeast Asia.
As part of the strategy, South Korea will strengthen its logistics infrastructure in Vietnam, centred on a new integrated logistics hub in Hanoi that began operations in June. The facility includes conventional warehousing as well as freezing, rapid cooling and cold chain systems designed to preserve fresh produce such as strawberries, grapes and pears, along with livestock products.
The government also plans to expand its V-Express export support programme, combining logistics and marketing assistance to lower import and transport costs while increasing both online and offline promotional activities in Vietnam.
The strategy will also broaden its focus from business-to-consumer sales to the business-to-business market. South Korea said growing demand in Vietnam for processed foods, convenience meals, Korean-style sauces and ingredients used in street food had created opportunities to supply restaurants, food service chains and institutional kitchens on a larger scale.
The ministry is also working with K-Mart, a South Korean supermarket chain operating more than 150 stores in Vietnam, to leverage its logistics and distribution network for joint marketing campaigns and to extend K-Food supply chains from Vietnam into neighbouring Cambodia and Laos.
During the K-Food ASEAN 2026 Fair, 45 South Korean agricultural and food exporters met with 107 ASEAN importers, resulting in the signing of 46 memorandums of understanding worth a combined USD 21 million.
Jeong Gyeong-seok, director general for food industry policy at South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said Vietnam would serve as a strategic base for expanding exports of Korean fresh produce and food ingredients, with the Hanoi logistics hub and K-Mart's distribution network playing a central role in reaching wider ASEAN markets.
