Vietnam: South Korea’s Strategic Gateway to Tech Talent and Innovation

The S-shaped nation in Southeast Asia is rapidly becoming a strategic extension of South Korea’s tech ambitions, emerging as a true “home away from home” for giants such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and other leading conglomerates.

The interplay between a global shortage of technology skills and the relentless demand for digital innovation is driving new models of co-creation, cross-border partnering, and supply-chain re-engineering across the world.

Located just 3,000 kilometers from the Korean peninsula, Vietnam offers a rich pool of IT talent, cost-effective delivery capabilities, and expanding expertise in next-generation technologies, making it a natural fit for South Korea. As Korean enterprises pursue aggressive digital transformation strategies, Vietnam provides the innovation capacity and execution strength they critically need.

Vietnam: The Emerging Answer to Korea’s IT Challenges

South Korea’s ambition to lead in digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly constrained by a severe shortage of IT talent. The generative AI segment alone is projected to grow two to three times faster than the broader AI market, yet forecasts point to a shortfall of more than 50,000 tech specialists, particularly in AI and adjacent disciplines.

This talent scarcity is becoming the most critical bottleneck in industries central to Korea’s industrial strategy, including automotive, healthcare, and manufacturing. It is also undermining the adoption of emerging technologies such as AI, low-code/no-code platforms, SAP S/4HANA, and AUTOSAR, leading to slower digital progress, costly project delays, and operational inefficiencies. Combined with rising labor costs, this widening talent gap poses a serious threat to the country’s competitive edge in the global innovation race.

Against this backdrop, Vietnam has emerged as a vital part of the solution, standing alongside traditional outsourcing hubs such as India and China. Leveraging a rich pool of IT talent and proven capabilities in complex software engineering, Vietnam has moved beyond its traditional role in manufacturing to become a strategic partner that helps Korean companies bridge talent gaps and accelerate their digital transformation journeys.

Growing Influence on Korea’s Tech Ecosystem

As demand for technological innovation and skilled talent continues to rise, the long-standing strategic partnership between Korea and Vietnam has deepened, positioning both countries to capture emerging opportunities. This intensifying collaboration is illustrated by Korea’s plan to acquire 10,000 Nvidia GPUs in support of its national AI strategy.

Samsung is a flagship example of this thriving relationship. After establishing its first manufacturing facility in Vietnam in 2008, the company has broadened its operations into screens, cameras, batteries, and other product lines. Vietnam now accounts for 30% of Samsung’s 2024 global revenue.

Today, Samsung is expanding its activities in AI and supply-chain operations in Vietnam and is widely regarded as the country’s largest individual foreign investor. In 2024, it announced plans for a new US$1.8 billion display plant in northern Vietnam, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the market.

However, Samsung represents only one part of the broader Korea–Vietnam collaboration. Both governments and their private sectors are actively investing in IT skills development and digital transformation initiatives. Korean companies such as Naver, CJ Olive Networks, KG, and Lotte Data & Information have established development centers in Vietnam, while others, including LG CNS, have formed strategic partnerships with local leaders like FPT to expand their digital capabilities.

In parallel, Vietnamese IT companies are making meaningful inroads into the Korean market. The country’s leading technology player FPT, in particular, has become a critical partner in accelerating Korea’s digital transformation, helping enterprises enhance efficiency, foster innovation, and sustain long-term growth.

Since 2016, FPT has built a solid presence in Korea, with 300 employees across four offices and an additional 2,500 offshore engineers in Vietnam supporting Korean clients remotely. Leveraging its Global Delivery Center (GDC) model, FPT enables Korean enterprises to optimize costs while maintaining high-quality services across a wide range of technology domains.

Today, FPT provides IT services to major Korean companies such as LG Electronics, LG CNS, Shinsegae I&C, Shinhan, and others, delivering scalable solutions in ERP modernization, AI development, and automotive software engineering.

This two-way collaboration highlights the depth of the Korea–Vietnam partnership, driving mutual growth and innovation across both markets and exerting a growing influence on Korea’s broader tech ecosystem.

A Thriving, Technology-enabled Nation

Around 40 years ago, Vietnam had virtually no presence on the global technology stage. Today, it has emerged as a standout success by proving it can deliver affordable solutions at scale. This achievement is underpinned by a growing pool of skilled talent, youthful demographics, a strategic location near major financial hubs, an export-ready coastline, government-backed education and research programs, business-friendly policies, and technology specializations in fast-growing areas such as AI, smart vehicles, and enterprise digital transformation.

This dynamic environment has translated into consistent economic growth, with GDP rising by 7.09% in 2024. The country’s success has also acted as a magnet for foreign investment, with many global technology giants building local manufacturing facilities and investing in skills and research programs, from Amazon and Apple to NVIDIA and, notably, Samsung and several other Korean firms.

Vietnam’s rapid growth would not have been possible without its pioneering companies. The country is now home to nearly 74,000 technology operations, reinforcing its position as a leading hub for innovation in Asia. At the forefront of this transformation is FPT, which excels across multiple technology domains, including AI, cloud computing, ERP modernization, and software-defined vehicle development.

Partnering for the Next Wave of Innovation

While low labor costs, investment incentives, and favorable tax policies have all contributed to Vietnam’s tech boom, the real catalyst has been the country’s strategic emphasis on research and development and its single-minded focus on the next wave of transformative technologies.

Vietnam now ranks among the top 40 countries in AI readiness and produces over >57,000 IT graduates each year, underscoring its forward-looking approach to innovation. This growing reputation has attracted leading global technology players. In 2024, NVIDIA announced plans to establish an AI-focused research center in the country, further consolidating Vietnam’s position as a regional AI powerhouse.

In parallel, the private sector has been pivotal in advancing this vision. Vietnam’s leading ICT corporations, such as FPT, have invested heavily in talent development, building a robust education ecosystem that nurtures tech professionals equipped for the future. By operating its own university campuses and offering specialized training alongside global internship programs, FPT secures a steady pipeline of skilled talent in high-demand domains such as AI, semiconductors, and automotive software engineering.

This effort is reinforced by an extensive global partnership network and the support of world-renowned AI experts, including Professor Yoshua Bengio of the MILA AI Institute and Dr. Andrew Ng of Landing AI. The corporation has committed to cultivating 10,000 semiconductor engineers and 50,000 AI specialists by 2030, signaling a long-term dedication to deep technology capabilities.

As global competition intensifies and the race in AI, sustainability, and digital transformation accelerates, Korea increasingly needs agile and capable partners. The synergy between Korea’s technological leadership and Vietnam’s rapidly expanding expertise promises a mutually beneficial dynamic, paving the way for deeper collaboration and shared growth in the years ahead.

Conclusion

Vietnam has rapidly evolved into South Korea’s strategic gateway to tech talent and innovation, bridging critical IT shortages while powering ambitious digital transformation agendas. More than a cost-efficient outsourcing hub, it now serves as a co-creation partner, where giants like Samsung and fast-growing leaders such as FPT jointly advance AI, ERP modernization, automotive software, and supply-chain innovation. This progress is underpinned by Vietnam’s deepening R&D focus, robust talent pipeline, and growing strength in next-gen fields like AI and semiconductors, all supported by a vibrant public–private ecosystem. As global competition intensifies, Korean enterprises that lean into this synergy today will be best placed to shape—and not just respond to—the next wave of digital innovation across Asia and beyond.