Samsung Electronics chairman meets Vietnam prime minister

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, right, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pose on Dec. 23 during a ceremony to celebrate the opening of Samsung's R&D center in Hanoi. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday.

The meeting came on the day that the company opened a research and development center in Vietnam to conduct mobile device and network technology studies.

Details about the discussion were not disclosed, although local media reported that Vietnam may have requested additional investment into the country.

"I expect the R&D center to contribute to enhancing Vietnam's industrial competitiveness and to the relationship between South Korea and Vietnam," Lee said during the ceremony.

Accompanying Lee was Roh Tae-mun, Samsung Electronics mobile division head, and Samsung Display CEO Choi Joo-sun.

Vietnamese politicians were also present, including Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and Nguyen Xuan Thang, president of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

Samsung Electronics executives and Vietnamese politicians attend a ceremony celebrating the completion of an R&D center in Hanoi on Dec. 23. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

The electronics maker said that the opening of the center means an elevation of importance of Vietnam not only as a manufacturing hub in Asia, but a site for research activities.

Vietnam is already home to Samsung Electronics smartphone, TV and display panel factories. They are located in Ho Chi Minh, Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen. The country’s smartphone factories are responsible for producing almost half of the company's Galaxy smartphones.

On the 11,603 square meters (2.9 acres) site, a 16-story facility will be built with a floor area of 79,511 square meters (855,849 square feet). There, 2,200 researchers will carry out projects for mobile devices, network communication technologies and software.

More specific areas of research include multimedia information processing technology and security for wireless networks.

Samsung Electronics broke ground on the center in March, 2020 during the first wave of the coronavirus.

Chairman Lee toured smartphone and display factories near Hanoi on Dec. 22, the day he arrived in Vietnam.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]