Kotra head Pyung-oh Kwon says South Korea’s relations with Thailand are good but could be better.

Kotra’s head says relations with Thailand are good but could be better supported by the government to improve trade, writes Erich Parpart

After 60 years, bilateral relations between Thailand and South Korea are considered “well developed”. The countries could still do more to promote business cooperation and understanding, says Pyung-oh Kwon, president and chief executive of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra).

The Observatory of Economic Complexity reports that South Korea is the 10th-largest export destination for Thailand, accounting for 1.9% or US$4.62 billion (153 billion baht) of the $237 billion in total exports in 2016.

Most of the products exported from Thailand to South Korea are machines, plastics, rubber and food products. Thailand imports $7.03 billion worth of goods from South Korea, mainly machines and metals, along with plastics, rubber and chemical products.

“I was told the total bilateral trade value was around $13 billion last year, but I think bilateral trade could be much bigger in the future,” Mr Kwon told the Bangkok Post, revealing that the aim for this year is to push for a record high of $14 billion. “The obstacle is more in bilateral investment cooperation.”

In terms of investment, South Korea is the ninth-largest investor in Thailand, while Thailand is South Korea’s thirdlargest Asean target for investment, after Vietnam and Indonesia. About 400 Korean companies operate in Thailand in various fields, including electronics, steel, auto parts and home shopping.

Mr Kwon said the number of Korean companies investing in Southeast Asia is still “unsatisfactory” and Kotra is working to improve this. One strategy is to work alongside Seoul through the New Southern Policy, as Korean enterprises have dialled up interest in Asean as a result of the developing trade war between the US and China.

“We are deeply concerned with the developments because Korea is an exportoriented country,” Mr Kwon said, referring to the increasing trade tensions. “We are worried about the possibility of deterioration in the global trade environment, and we are examining ways to response to the possible repercussions from the trade tension.”

The South Korean government and Kotra view Thailand as the gateway to the region and a major market, Mr Kwon said, referring to the fact that South Korea chose Thailand as the first Asean host for the Korea Expo in October. Korea Expo was first held in New York in 1964 and has since been hosted in countries around the world, but it came to Southeast Asia only this year.

“I want to recommend Thai government officials to pay attention to Korean companies that have already invested in Thailand, as they have some difficulties in doing business here in terms of procedures,” Mr Kwon said. “If Korean companies are to invest more in Thailand, the Thai government has to heed their concerns as they are trying to solve problems together with Thai officials.”

The Kotra president declined to comment specifically on which procedural challenges should be addressed first, but he said the government officials in charge of enhancing bilateral relationships between the two countries should “listen” to recommendations from the Korean-Thai Chamber of Commerce.

“The chairman of the Korean-Thai Chamber of Commerce knows much about the specific concerns Korean companies have at the moment,” Mr Kwon said.

He also urged the Thai government to arrange more conferences and networking opportunities between Thai and Korean companies, as more frequent meetings could lead to greater understanding of differences in working culture and enhance business relationships.

This year’s Korea Expo in Bangkok, for example, brought in 100 SMEs from South Korea, including products such as beauty, daily consumer goods, food and electronics, as well as other collaborations in the arts and social enterprises.

Regarding the Eastern Economic Corridor, Mr Kwon said about 200 Korean companies are looking to invest in the EEC and he believes the EEC Office of Thailand should do more to promote the corridor to Korean companies.

“Only 200 Korean companies is not satisfactory … and I do not understand why the EEC office and the Board of Investment [BoI] do not arrange more international relations activities in Korea or other countries,” he said. “Kotra already has a close relationship with the BoI, and I would like to suggest we do more international relations activities with the EEC in Seoul if they want us to cooperate more closely.”

I want to recommend Thai government officials to pay attention to Korean companies that have already invested in Thailand.

PYUNG-OH KWON

President and chief executive, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency