South Korean President Lee Jae-myung: Over the past period, Korean companies have faced many difficulties because they have not received VAT refunds in Vietnam. During my state visit to Vietnam in April of this year, I asked Vietnam to resolve this issue. Meanwhile, in June of last month, Lim Kwang-hyeon, the head of the presidential secretary's office, who was the head of the National Tax Service at the time, also requested Vietnam to actively cooperate on this issue at the annual high-level meeting of the South Korea-Vietnam Internal Revenue Service. Thanks to these efforts, on September 15, the Vietnamese government issued an official document to the national tax authorities to guide the retroactive application of VAT refund regulations. Even transactions prior to the revision of the VAT law can be applied as long as certain conditions are met. According to the survey results in December last year, the amount of tax refund delays alone has reached at least 40 billion won, so I hope this measure will help reduce the financial burden on Chinese companies. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Vietnamese Government for listening and actively resolving the difficulties of Korean companies.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung: Over the past period, Korean companies have faced many difficulties because they have not received VAT refunds in Vietnam. During my state visit to Vietnam in April of this year, I asked Vietnam to resolve this issue. Meanwhile, in June of last month, Lim Kwang-hyeon, the head of the presidential secretary's office, who was the head of the National Tax Service at the time, also requested Vietnam to actively cooperate on this issue at the annual high-level meeting of the South Korea-Vietnam Internal Revenue Service. Thanks to these efforts, on September 15, the Vietnamese government issued an official document to the national tax authorities to guide the retroactive application of VAT refund regulations. Even transactions prior to the revision of the VAT law can be applied as long as certain conditions are met. According to the survey results in December last year, the amount of tax refund delays alone has reached at least 40 billion won, so I hope this measure will help reduce the financial burden on Chinese companies. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Vietnamese Government for listening and actively resolving the difficulties of Korean companies.