[Asia Report] Vietnam’s Final Solution to Corruption: Generational Change

Vo Van Thuong Appointed as New President at 52
Interpreted as Strong Will to Root Out Deep-Seated Corruption
Rapid Economic Growth Amid Widespread Bureaucratic Corruption
Focus on Whether Political Generational Shift Will Succeed in Reform

Bo Ban Truong, New President of Vietnam EPA Yonhap News

There is no doubt that Vietnam is currently the most prominent economic zone in Asia following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Korean companies, Vietnam has already emerged as the top investment destination. Located at the crossroads of Northeast and Southeast Asia, Vietnam is praised for its excellent workforce, low production costs, geographical proximity, and a domestic population reaching 100 million, making it a potential savior amid the US-China conflict.

Although almost everything seems perfect, there are still many suspicious aspects. These include a closed bureaucratic system that Koreans find hard to understand and widespread corruption even among lower-level public officials. Koreans who have lived long-term in Vietnam have experienced frustration with the decades-long stagnation in social overhead capital (SOC) construction and the one-sided administrative and political behaviors.

Nguyen Xuan Phuc Ousted

A new face at 52 years old = On March 2nd, a big news that surprised the world was announced. Vo Van Thuong, the Communist Party’s Standing Secretary (52), was appointed to the position of State President, the second highest in the power hierarchy, and received parliamentary approval. Last year, he visited Korea to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Korea-Vietnam diplomatic relations and met with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, but no one predicted he would so quickly transform into the top leader. Considering the ages of Nguyen Phu Trong, the current top leader of Vietnam (78), and former State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (68), who was ousted earlier this year, this marks a rapid generational shift of about 20 years, opening the era of post-war generation politics.

Former Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who was ousted earlier this year Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Newly appointed President Thuong was born in 1970 and is notable for building his political career around youth party organizations in the southern economic city of Ho Chi Minh. He entered central politics in 2016 at the age of 46, debuting as the youngest member of the Politburo, and has recently held ministerial positions mainly related to propaganda and youth affairs.

Due to Vietnam’s long north-south stretch and its history of division, northern-born politicians have often been emphasized for their ‘party loyalty,’ while southern-born politicians have been recognized as ‘economic experts.’ However, President Thuong is distinctive for focusing on Marxism-Leninism since his philosophy studies at Ho Chi Minh University in the south. Secretary General Trong, who appointed him, also shares this background as a theorist who studied communist ideology at the social science academies of the Soviet Union and China.

War on Corruption

Secretary General Trong has led a high-intensity anti-corruption campaign over recent years to reform the party and administration, which had become complacent due to rapid economic development. Recently, he wielded the sword of justice against widespread administrative corruption, including vaccine import scandals. As a result, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh resigned last year, and the Minister of Health (Nguyen Thanh Long) and Hanoi Party Secretary (Chu Ngoc Anh) were arrested. The problem was so severe that most senior officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also became targets, ultimately leading to the ousting of State President Xuan Phuc.

During this process, many politicians born in the late 1950s and 1960s, considered the next generation, were purged. Analysts in diplomatic circles interpret Secretary General Trong’s move to appoint a communist theorist born in 1970, in his early 50s, from Ho Chi Minh City rather than the capital Hanoi, as part of a ‘rectification’ campaign to break the widespread chain of corruption. Indeed, President Thuong has emphasized his clarity as a communist leader with statements such as “There will be no selling of land to foreigners” (2018), “The role of Marxism-Leninist philosophy and Ho Chi Minh Thought must be clarified” (2020), and “By 2045, Vietnam must have a complete and modern socialist theoretical system” (2021).

Vietnam's highest authority, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

◇Persistent Leninism = Even today, many Russian tourists and traces of the Soviet era can be found throughout Vietnam. This is a result of the strategic pro-Soviet policy adopted after the 1979 border conflict with China, as well as the historical fact that Vietnamese revolutionaries in the 1920s and 1930s were introduced to Marxism-Leninism through the Soviet Union.

Vietnam’s government is still considered one of the very few countries in the world that faithfully practices the ‘Leninist tradition.’ It has a highly centralized structure where decision-making power is concentrated in the top leadership, and the power struggles within are conducted secretly and swiftly without external exposure, reflecting Lenin’s concept of ‘democratic centralism.’

Another notable feature is that political power is not concentrated in a single individual but distributed among the Party Secretary General, State President, Prime Minister, and National Assembly Chairman, operating as a collective leadership system. This allows the party, administration, and legislature to check and balance each other and pursue responsible governance, but it also means that without a clear leading faction, corruption competition can lead to fragmentation and chaos.

Since taking office in 2011, Secretary General Trong has led anti-corruption campaigns that resulted in the arrest of numerous party officials and business leaders. A representative case was the ousting of Nguyen Tan Dung, a prominent market-oriented figure in Vietnam, on corruption charges in 2016. However, there was also considerable backlash against his autocratic political style. Although punishments for embezzlement, bribery, and abuse of power continued, the perceived corruption did not decrease, leading some to criticize these efforts as mere show administration to ease widespread public dissatisfaction.

"Annual Growth Over 7%"

The reason the emergence of the new president is attracting attention lies here. Because he was such an innovative figure, rumors circulated that he might have deep ties to the Communist Party. However, he comes from a very ordinary family and is recognized solely for his loyalty to the party and reformist will.

Ultimately, this generational change is interpreted as a decision by the original group centered on Secretary General Trong. To effectively control high-ranking officials and military groups whose minds are drifting due to Vietnam’s rapid economic growth, strict internal discipline is necessary, and for this, the restoration of Marxism-Leninism is intended to innovate the Communist Party once again.

In Vietnam, where power is dispersed, Secretary General Trong is already serving his third term and is expected to retire. However, it is noteworthy that he selected a successor who is 26 years younger, a new face faithful to communist ideology, overcoming numerous competitors. This is seen as a desperate measure to break the deeply rooted chain of corruption in the Vietnamese leadership and a sign of his will for self-reform.

Since launching the ??i M?i (Renovation) policy in 1986, Vietnam has openly declared goals of achieving an annual GDP growth rate of over 7%, reaching middle-income status by 2020, and becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2035, the 60th anniversary of reunification. Although temporarily slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam actually achieved an 8% GDP growth rate in 2022 and is expected to maintain high growth of 6.7?7.2% this year, similar to last year. Furthermore, per capita income is expected to exceed $5,000 this year. The question now is whether Vietnam can overcome the ‘middle-income trap caused by corruption,’ which neighboring ASEAN countries have fallen into, through personnel innovation. This is why the current generational change is drawing so much attention.

Jung Ho-jae, Researcher at Korea University ASEAN Center