Lee Jae Myung wraps India, Vietnam trip targeting supply chains, trade

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung concluded a six-day diplomatic trip to India and Vietnam that produced agreements to deepen cooperation in energy, supply chains and critical minerals amid uncertainties driven by Middle East instability, The Korea Times reported Thursday.

The tour signals South Korea's intensifying push to diversify trade and supply chain partnerships beyond existing allies — a shift closely watched by Korean-American importers and business owners in Orange County who depend on Seoul's global trade networks.

Lee held a bilateral summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday, where the two governments agreed to expand cooperation across critical minerals, energy, artificial intelligence, finance and shipbuilding, according to The Korea Times. Both sides also pledged to accelerate negotiations to upgrade their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

The centerpiece of the India leg was an ambitious trade target: the two countries set a goal of doubling bilateral commerce from its current level of $25 billion to $50 billion by 2030, The Korea Times reported.

In Hanoi on Wednesday, Lee met with Vietnam's top leader To Lam and reached agreements to forge closer ties in energy, infrastructure, technology and supply chain coordination. Back-to-back follow-up sessions with Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man were held Thursday, the day before Lee's scheduled return, according to the report.

South Korean officials framed both visits as a direct response to disruptions in global supply chains tied to ongoing Middle East conflict. For Korean-American trade operators in OC — many of whom source components or finished goods through South Korean supply networks — the diplomatic push to lock in alternative corridors through South and Southeast Asia carries practical implications.

The upgraded CEPA framework with India, if concluded, would be among the most consequential trade agreements Seoul has pursued in recent years, given India's role as a rising source of critical minerals essential to electronics and clean-energy manufacturing.

Lee's return is scheduled for Friday, capping a diplomatic sprint that targeted two of Asia's fastest-growing economies as Seoul seeks to reduce reliance on any single trade corridor, The Korea Times reported.