Home > Business > Industry

Gov’t signs post office agreement with Vietnam

Korea Post President Kim Joon-ho, fourth from left, poses with VN Post CEO Pham Anh Tuan after signing an MOU on development of IT technology for postal services at a ceremony held in Hanoi yesterday. Provided by Korea Post

Korea and Vietnam will enhance cooperation in postal services by using Korea’s cutting-edge IT technology.

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning’s Korea Post said yesterday it signed an MOU with its Vietnamese counterpart, VN Post, to strengthen collaboration and improve postal services between the countries.

Under the MOU, the two state-run agencies will work together to develop IT technologies used in postal services, improve an electronic remittance service between the countries, expand related education initiatives and boost exchanges of work forces.

IT technologies are playing a significant role in improving the country’s postal services.

Korea Post’s international Express Mail Service (EMS) allows consumers to track the whereabouts of mail or parcels sent by aircraft or ships. They can receive SMS messages informing them of the progress of each shipment.

Mail to 143 destinations including Tokyo and Hong Kong can be delivered in two to four days under the Korean postal system, the agency said.

Under the agreement, Korean IT companies specialized in postal services will be able to make inroads in the Vietnamese market, the agency said.

VN Post is currently trying to modernize its postal service technology.

“Vietnam is the 11th-largest country in terms of volume of postal matter,” said Kim Joon-ho, president of Korea Post, after signing the MOU with Pham Anh Tuan, CEO of VN Post, in Hanoi yesterday. “We hope this serves as a stepping-stone for local IT companies to enter the Vietnamese market.”

Korea Post has inked similar deals with nine countries including Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Brunei, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Korea had a previous agreement with Vietnam. The MOU renews it and aims for a closer partnership.

There are 20 IT companies that are developing technologies for postal services in Korea.

BY SONG SU-HYUN [ssh@joongang.co.kr]