Hanoi, Vietnam — Vietnam’s parliament head has resigned, according to state media, making him the latest senior member of the government to leave office amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign that is shaking the country’s political and business elites.
The resignation of the president of the National Assembly, Vuong Dinh Hue, adds to the growing instability in the country. President Vo Van Thuong resigned in March, just over a year after the previous president, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, stepped down to take political responsibility for corruption scandals during the pandemic.
“It also highlights the extreme uncertainty in a political environment that often boasts of its stability, as three top leaders have been fired in just one year,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Hue’s resignation came days after his assistant Pham Thai Ha was arrested on charges of abusing his position and power for personal gain on April 21, according to state media outlet VN Express.
Initial reports did not say that Hue was involved in corruption, but noted that investigators found that the parliamentary leader had “violated Party regulations, and his violations have affected the reputation of the Party, the state and himself.” The Communist Party of Vietnam accepted what it called a voluntary resignation from Hue, according to VN Express.
Hue, 67, had been president of Vietnam’s national assembly for more than three years. That made him Vietnam’s fourth most important politician, along with the president, prime minister and head of the Communist Party.
Political instability could threaten Vietnam’s economic ambitions as it vies to become an alternative to China in the region’s supply chain. On a visit to Vietnam earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he wants to further increase investment in the country.
Ha’s arrest was the result of a widening of the ongoing investigation into the Thuan An Group, the Vietnam News Agency said, citing Ministry of Public Security spokesperson Lieut. General to An Xo. The company’s president, Nguyen Duy Hung, and several other people were arrested in early April.
The Blazing Furnace campaign has burned businesses and led to an unprecedented death sentence for real estate tycoon Truong My Lan in the biggest fraud case ever seen in Vietnam.
Giang, the analyst, said Hue was previously seen as a likely successor to Trong. “His fall will only intensify Vietnam’s succession crisis,” he said.
Vietnam’s leaders will be next to call a Communist Party congress in early 2026.
Meanwhile, experts say, rivals are jostling to position themselves as a successor to Trong, who was elected to an unprecedented third term as party chief in 2021. Given his age, experts say he is unlikely to continue for another mandate.