Newspapers with headlines on the death of Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong are displayed at a stall in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday. EPA-Yonhap

Senior executives of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) were busy last Friday checking messages from Vietnam, during the last dinner at the 47th KCCI Jeju Forum, the leading business lobby's largest event of the year.

Even before the Vietnamese government announced the death of Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at around 6 p.m. (local time), the KCCI executives were prepared to send messages of condolences under the name of Chairman Chey Tae-won.

This was possible as the KCCI's office in Hanoi had learned of the death of the Southeast Asian country's most powerful man earlier in the day.

"The Vietnamese government will make the official announcement five minutes later," one of the KCCI's senior executives said at that time.

"We are trying to mourn for his death earlier than other organizations."

The KCCI succeeded to send a letter to Vu Ho, the Vietnamese ambassador to South Korea, on the very day of the general secretary's death, without lagging behind the chambers of India, Singapore and Europe, all of which expressed their condolences to the Vietnamese people on the loss of the man, who had led the country for the past 14 years.

"I would like to express my deepest condolences to the Vietnamese government, people and his bereaved family," the KCCI chairman said in a letter written in Vietnamese.

"I hope that under the leadership of the ambassador, Vietnam and its people overcome the shock and pain of the general secretary's death and quickly recover stability."

A letter of condolence sent from Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Vu Ho on Friday / Courtesy of KCCI

In fact, the Vietnamese leader's death did not receive a lot of attention in Korean media.

However, President Yoon Suk Yeol and world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressed their condolences, demonstrating the growing economic and diplomatic importance of Vietnam in the international community.

The government will dispatch Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to attend the state funeral of Vietnam's highest-ranking official later this week.

Thanks to the KCCI's prompt response, Korean businesspeople did not miss the opportunity to boost their ties with the fast-growing country, which is now mentioned by the government as a "comprehensive strategic partner."

The business lobby's endeavor fortunately showed that the Korean business community has been paying keen attention to international affairs and working hard for economic diplomacy in the front lines of intensifying global competition.