Kumho group welcomes Vietnamese bigwigs

Park Sam-koo, Kumho Asiana Group Chairman, right, greets Le Thanh Hai, Ho Chi Minh Party Secretary, at the Plaza Hotel in central Seoul, Wednesday. Provided by the company

Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo met with dignitaries from Vietnam to discuss stepping up investment and business exchanges.

“Since 1993, when Asiana Air became the first Korean airliner to open a flight route to Ho Chi Minh, the Kumho Asiana Group has been actively advancing into the Vietnamese market,” said Park. “We plan to not only expand our investment continuously, but we will lead exchanges and cooperation between the two countries through various social contribution activities.”

Le Thanh Hai, Ho Chi Minh Party Secretary, said the role of the private business sector, along with political trust, played a significant role in not only helping the establishment of a cooperative relationship between the two countries, but also reaching a free trade pact.

He added that he hopes Kumho Asiana Group will continue to develop into a global company and also a company that is respected in Vietnam for its social contributions.

According to the Korean conglomerate, Park met with 14 Vietnamese delegates including Pham Huu Chi, Vietnamese ambassador to Korea, Nguyen Huu Tin, Ho Chi Minh City’s deputy major as well as Nguyen Vu Tu, director of Ho Chi Minh’s foreign affairs department, and Le Thi Huynh Mai, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh’s planning and investment department at the Plaza Hotel in central Seoul Wednesday.

Also present at the event were seven top executives from the airline group including Kim Soo-cheon, President and CEO of the flagship Asiana Group, Won Il-woo, Kumho Industrial CEO, and Suh Jae-hwan, head of Kumho Asiana Group’s strategic management division.

The tight relationship between the Korean conglomerate and Vietnam is well known. In March 2014, Chairman Park received a certificate of merit in Hanoi. This was the first time the Vietnamese government gave a “Prime Minister’s certificate of merit” to a private business.

Asiana Airlines runs 14 flights a week to Ho Chi Minh City from Incheon and the same number to Hanoi. It also runs two flights a week to Da Nang. Construction arm Kumho E&C, which opened its first branch in 1995 in Ho Chi Minh City and another branch in Hanoi in 2007, is currently involved in seven major projects.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]