The President and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok on Tuesday (Oct. 20) left Seoul for Vietnam on the first leg of a six-day Southeast Asian Tour that also includes Cambodia and Thailand.

In the Vietnamese Capital City of Hanoi, President Lee will meet with President Nguyen Minh Triet for a bilateral summit, and talk with Vietnam''s Secretary-general of the Communist Party and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

President Lee will also be present at a Korea-Vietnam CEO forum and make a speech there, according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

At the bilateral Korea-Vietnam summit scheduled on Wednesday (Oct. 21), the two Presidents will review the rapidly developing two-way ties in economy, commerce, society and culture, and discuss ways to further boost relations.

They will also share ideas on Korea''s participation in Vietnam''s plant construction project, mutual cooperation in the fields of broadcasting, mineral resources development and power plant construction, among others, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

Bilateral trade between Korea and Vietnam grew to US$9.84 billion in 2008 from $490 million in 1992, when the two countries restarted diplomatic ties.