KIAF Chairman Jeong Man-ki speaks at Korea-Vietnam Green Manufacturing Value Chain Cooperation Forum

Korea Industries Association Forum Chairman Jeong Man-ki delivers an opening address at the Korea-Vietnam Green Manufacturing Value Chain Cooperation Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Sunday. [Korea Industries Association Forum]
Korea Industries Association Forum Chairman Jeong Man-ki delivers an opening address at the Korea-Vietnam Green Manufacturing Value Chain Cooperation Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Sunday. [Korea Industries Association Forum]

The manufacturing supply chains linking South Korea and Vietnam are at a critical turning point and must evolve into an integrated ecosystem that generates shared benefits, a leading industry official said Sunday.

Korea Industries Association Forum Chairman Jeong Man-ki made the remarks at the Korea-Vietnam Green Manufacturing Value Chain Cooperation Forum, held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. "Given the ESG policies and strategies of the EU and global companies, the Korea-Vietnam manufacturing supply chain now stands at a critical turning point where it must meet new standards of resilience and sustainability — not just efficiency," Jeong said.

He added that he hoped the forum's supply chain cooperation would "go beyond a simple division of labor, move toward a single integrated ecosystem that creates shared benefits together, and serve as a genuine starting point for green manufacturing cooperation."

The forum was co-hosted by Vietnam's Hai Phong city and the Korea Industrial Complex Corp. to build an integrated industry-government-academia cooperation model between the two countries. Participating organizations included the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, law firm Barun's Corporate Strategy Institute, Leica Group, Glassdome, Hanyang University's Center for Sustainable Supply Chain (CS2C), Kinh Bac Urban Development Corp. and Houselink.

"The production supply chain that Korean companies have built through investment in Vietnam now determines the competitiveness of South Korea's exports," Jeong said. "With ESG demands from export markets — including the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and RE100 — the green transition of Vietnam's supply chain is no longer a topic for discussion but an urgent priority."

He added that he hoped the forum would "promote public-private cooperation and institutional reform, strengthen ESG supply chain competitiveness for both Korea and Vietnam, and create a mutually beneficial opportunity."

Kim Myeong-gyo, a professor at Hanyang University and director of its Center for Sustainable Supply Chain, said many products in which South Korea holds global competitiveness are manufactured in Vietnam, and that the stability of Vietnam's supply chain is directly tied to the competitiveness of Korean companies.

"In the past, global companies considered it the right strategy to rely on a single source of supply to cut costs and boost efficiency," he said. What successive crises taught them, he added, was that "an efficient supply chain is not necessarily a safe one."

"Korean companies must thrive for Vietnam's supply chain to survive, and Vietnam's supply chain must survive for Korean companies to maintain competitiveness in the EU market," he said. "This is not goodwill — it is a condition for survival."

Ham Jin-gi, chief executive of Glassdome Korea, presented carbon data management technology as a key tool for reducing supply chain risk. "A product carbon footprint data management system has become the basic infrastructure for entering global markets," he said.

Ham said the simultaneous rollout of major regulations — including the EU CBAM, the EU Battery Regulation and the Digital Product Passport — requires companies to systematically manage carbon emissions, country of origin and recycling information on a product-by-product basis. For CBAM-covered items such as steel and aluminum, emissions verification and reporting have become critical. In the battery, electronics and mobility sectors, securing carbon data across the entire supply chain is now directly linked to export competitiveness.

Meanwhile, the Korea Industries Association Forum comprises 19 member organizations spanning machinery, medical data, display, biotech, semiconductor, battery, department store, petroleum, textiles, cement, engineering, automotive mobility, electronics and information technology, zero-trust security, shipbuilding and offshore plants, steel, chain stores, aerospace and chemicals.


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